New Report: College Completion Rates Jumped Between 2016 and 2021, Disparities Based on Race and Ethnicity Remain

State-by-state analysis from Complete College America highlights significant completion gains; more work remains to close gaps disproportionately affecting students of color and part-time students

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Complete College America (CCA), a national non-profit organization on a mission to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States, today released a new state-by-state analysis comparing on-time completion rates among students at two- and four-year degree granting institutions between 2016 and 2021, broken down by age and race/ethnicity. Entitled Building on Completion Gains: Amplifying Progress and Closing Persistent Gaps, the report found that across 48 states, regions and higher education systems, on-time completion rates at four-year institutions increased by 6 percentage points between 2015 and 2020 and by 6 percentage points at two-year institutions.

"This research provides tangible data demonstrating that the reforms set in motion long before the pandemic were generating significant and measurable improvements in college completion," said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America. "To build on and sustain those completion gains, however, we need to be clear-eyed about the new challenges that threaten to wipe out this hard-fought progress. We must therefore stay the course and continue the laser focus on scaling proven structural reforms that work."

Against the backdrop of declining enrollment and retention across much of the higher education landscape, the report highlights the long-term impact of efforts undertaken by states, systems and institutions to improve on-time completion and student success that predate the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using data from public sources and the members of the CCA Alliance, the analysis found that between 2015 and today, almost all Alliance members have improved on-time graduation rates for students at both four-year institutions (+6 percentage points) and two-year institutions (+6 percentage points). Seven Alliance members more than doubled their on-time graduation rates for two-year students in the past five years alone. Most state and regional colleges and universities in participating states have seen growth in graduation rates across all races and ethnicities.

STATE BY STATE ANALYSIS: Take a deeper dive on state-by-state trends and comparisons by viewing the entire report here.

"More than a decade ago, states including Indiana recognized that we could not keep up with the demands of a 21st-century economy and society without significantly increasing the number and proportion of citizens in our state with some level of education or training beyond high school," said Chris Lowery, Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education. "The data make it clear that we are moving the needle on completion, and implementing proven reform strategies—including Complete College America's Game Changers—has been an essential component of that progress. Indiana remains focused on continuing to improve completion while also addressing the state's declining college-going rate, lagging adult attainment rate and retention of college graduates to ensure our state has the workforce it needs for today and tomorrow."

However, despite nationwide increases in on-time completion, the improvements have not been enough to close persistent gaps in college completion, which are especially stark when broken down by age and race/ethnicity. Between the time the most recent data was collected and today, retention rates declined precipitously, and more people are forgoing college altogether to enter directly into the workforce. Colleges that serve the most first-generation students, BILPOC students and working adults (i.e. community colleges and non-flagship four-year institutions) have seen enrollment declines in double-digit percentages in the past two years.                                    

"Despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic, the completion movement is—and was—on the right track. Before COVID-19, states, systems and institutions were making significant progress toward accelerating completion and eliminating disparities based on race and ethnicity," said Charles Ansell, vice president of research, policy and advocacy at CCA. "This analysis provides hard data that should encourage higher education leaders to continue their reform work to ensure that the completion movement reaches every campus and, eventually, every learner."

To help sustain recent progress and eliminate completion gaps, the report offers institutions a cohesive set of strategies rooted in Complete College America's widely-adopted Game Changer strategies that have been rigorously tested over the last decade. Specifically, the report calls on institutions to align academic programs with career goals to provide students with a clear focus and direction for their college experience; shift to structured semester-by-semester academic plans; scale corequisite support to improve completion rates of gateway courses; and offer students academic, advising, career and coaching support to help close gaps in basic needs support.

For more information on Complete College America's research and to read Building on Completion Gains, visit www.completecollege.org.

About Complete College America: Complete College America (CCA) builds movements for scaled change and transforms institutions through data-driven policies, student-centered perspectives, and equity-driven practices. Since its founding in 2009, CCA connects a national network of forward-thinking state and higher education leaders and introduces bold initiatives to help states and institutions confront inequities, close institutional performance gaps, and increase college completion rates, especially for marginalized and historically excluded students. For more information, visit www.completecollege.org.

SOURCE Complete College America