Today, 43.1 million Americans have started, but not completed, a postsecondary credential of value (AKA “Some College, No Credential,” or “SCNC”). Of them, 37.6 million (87%) are working age adults. This represents a 2.2% increase from last year, a bump felt across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. 

As state and federal leaders work to address skilled labor shortages and colleges prepare to weather demographic shifts, attention is turning toward how to reengage—and reenroll—this population.

This week, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSC), with the support of the Lumina Foundation, released a new dataset that clarifies who makes up the SCNC population, and explores their educational journeys and outcomes.

Key Findings

  • The SCNC population skews more male than female. SCNC individuals are also more often Hispanic, Black, or Native American than other races/ethnicities studied (White, Asian, Pacific Islander, or other).
  • Community colleges are the greatest source of stop outs, while also being the primary destination for SCNC reenrollees. Primarily online institutions (PSIs) also welcome a disproportionately high share of SCNC reenrollees compared to the share of SCNC that started at one. That said, these institutional types have among the lowest rates of credential earning among reenrollees.
  • SCNC students most often reenroll at a different institution than where they started. Two-thirds (66.7%) of reenrollees will move to a different institutional sector (e.g., private four-year to public two-year). Nearly one-third (32.1%) move from one two-year institution to another (community college or public PAB). Finally, about 1 in 10 (11.6%) switch from a community college to a PSI.
  • Recency and accumulated credits are “strong predictors of successful [SCNC] reengagement,” according to Matthew Holsapple, senior director of research at NSC. Students who stopped out recently (within 4-5 academic terms) and students who were enrolled full-time for at least two years within the past decade have the highest potential to reenter and complete a credential program.

Interestingly, according to the report, 1 in 4 credential earners “complete” their first credential without having to reenroll each year. NSC’s data cannot directly identify the cause; however, researchers believe that state efforts to remove administrative barriers to completion and new initiatives to award credentials based on prior credits obtained may be what is driving this statistic.

One such initiative is Colorado Re-engaged (CORE), which allows public four-year institutions to award associate degrees to eligible Coloradans that completed at least 70 credit hours before stopping out. The program affords SCNC individuals who are unable to reenroll new economic opportunities, and incentivizes beneficiaries to reenroll to complete their bachelor’s degree.

  • W/A Sr. Advisor Alison Griffin spotlighted CORE in Boundless Potential, a weekly newsletter that zooms in on education and work issues in Colorado. Subscribe here.

This article is sourced from Whiteboard Notes, our weekly newsletter of the latest education policy and industry news read by thousands of education leaders, investors, grantmakers, and entrepreneurs. Subscribe here.