Taxpayers in Tennessee and Georgia are spending more than $100 million a year supporting college students who drop out in their freshman year, according to a new study of state and federal funding of four-year colleges.
The American Institutes for Research found that more than $550 million of taxpayer funds were spent between 2003 and 2008 on freshmen in Tennessee and Georgia who didn't return in their sophomore year. Nationwide, nearly $9 billion was spent on the 30 percent of freshmen at four-year colleges who didn't make it past their first year.
COSTLY DROPOUTS
State and federal governments spent nearly $9 billion from 2003-08 to support students at four-year colleges who dropped out after their first year.
Tennessee:
* $157 million in state appropriations
* $64.2 million in state student grants
* $33.5 million in federal student grants
* Total: $254.7 million
Georgia:
* $168 million in state appropriations
* $86 million in state student grants
* $40.8 million in federal student grants
* Total: $294.8 million
Source: American Institutes for Research study, "Finishing the First Lap: The Cost of First-Year Student Attrition for America's Four-Year Colleges."
BY THE NUMBERS
* 30: Percentage of students entering four-year degree programs who don't make it to a second year in college.
* 32: Percentage of UTC students who return for a second year. The 68 percent retention rate is up 8 percentage points from two years ago.
* 60: Percentage of students who graduate within six years from the University of Tennessee.
* 42: Percentage of students who graduate within six years at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Source: University of Tennessee, Tennessee Higher Education Commission, American Institutes for Research
"When students enroll in a college or university and drop out before the second year, they have invested time and money only to see their hopes and dreams of a college degree dashed," said Mark Schneider, a former commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics who wrote the study. "These costs can be heartbreaking for students and their families, but the financial costs to states are enormous."
Georgia ranked ninth and Tennessee was 12th among the 50 states in the amount of money spent on college dropouts, Schneider said. California spent the most money -- $490.8 million -- while Alaska spent only $1.7 million in the time period.
Tennessee is among a handful of states trying to boost college retention and graduation by paying public colleges not just for enrollment but also for the number of graduations.
State Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said the funding formula adopted by the Legislature this year puts Tennessee at the forefront of the growing effort.
"We've had a lot of focus on access to colleges over the past several decades and we need to continue to work toward that," Berke said. "But we also need to improve our completion and graduation rates."
At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, only 42 percent of students graduate within six years.
But UTC officials say they are working to improve retention with new attendance programs and counseling assistance for freshmen.
"The data is very clear that students who go to class consistently are far more likely to graduate, to persist in their program and graduate on time," UTC Provost Phil Oldham said. "We don't penalize or harass students for not going to class, but we have added programs to reach out to students if they miss more than one class to better identify their problems and needs as early as possible."
In addition to the new Freshman Academic Success Tracking program, UTC added more freshman counseling assistance, especially for those without a defined major, through its new Center for Advisement and Student Success. The university also offers classes that help orient students to college life and academic opportunities.
Tiffany Pryor, a UTC sophomore who is a pre-nursing and psychology student hoping to graduate in 2014, said a course offered on college mindsets helped her focus on staying at UTC.
"I'm able to take the strategies I've learned in the mindset class and apply them to my studies," she said. "Now I'm achieving greatness and my grades couldn't be better."
Warren Neel, a former business school dean at the University of Tennessee who now heads UT's Corporate Governance Center, insists colleges in Tennessee still must do better in helping students to graduate.
In a new book called "The Accidental Dean," Neel said a college diploma is becoming increasingly important in a global economy.
"There are a whole host of reasons why students drop out, but our colleges and universities need to do more to focus on student needs and boost their graduation rates," he said.
Oldham and other officials say the six-year graduation standard doesn't capture students who transfer to other schools or come back later and ultimately graduate.
"There are rewards for going to college even if you don't graduate," Oldham said. "But the fact of the matter is that when people go to college and they don't get the degree they were seeking it's hard on everybody -- the student, the family and the taxpayer."
The heart break is rarely felt by the student receiving the free support. It seems people, especially politicians, fail to realize anything free or without significant investment on the part of the recipient is likely to be abused. Students with parents or others paying for their education behave much different than those working to pay for their own education.
Would it not be better if those seeking government (tax payer) assistance worked to earn the money paid on their behalf by those that worked for it and paid taxes. There are opportunities to provide those needing financial assistance meaningful work that is of value to tax payers while allowing them to earn the assistance provided. This could be community service, military, peace corp, charities, local and state governments where tax payers are now paying for services that those receiving tax payer educational assistance could prevent. The greatest challenge for employers is to teach those hired how to work and be a productive employee. Working students may learn how to be a responsible employee.
The number seeking the college experience for the wrong reasons would probably drop. Could it be many of those one year wonders would have been better served by an opportunity to learn a skills trade? Not every high school graduate is college material and many would prefer other options.
Most collage age students should try the military, then pay with GI Bill. However, admissions standards have been watered down by "No Child Left Behind Act." Raising the bar with ACT or SAT scores can eliminate poorly disciplined students.
I fail to see the wisdom of lottery funded scholarships when grades K1-12 are under funded, poorly managed and failing to prepare students for college or work.
In a better world all schools would be private and void of any political impact or influence including elected boards.
The lack of discipline and control in public schools is at a crisis level. Where are the parents that should be held accountable?
I always get a kick out of people who boast on their life resume that they have "some college". Please, either get your degree or don't mention it at all.
True, some college usually means I didn't cut it or I learned to drink and party then left.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had some college on their resumes too.
But Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are magical.
Like unicorns.
Oz there are rare and lucky exceptions and I did say usually not always.
The majority of dropouts should not have been accepted to the universities. The State should set a minimum high school GPA and testing standards and if students are below those levels then they can pursue a degree only at a private university. Enough is enough....this country has all but lost its competitive edge.
harp3339...I agree with you. Only a small percentage find their way before college graduation.
NoMyth is right on. Most college dropouts should not have been in college to begin with.
If you need remedial math and english your freshman year. The odds are against you.
We must stop promoting children for showing up and parents should not be allowed to promote a child against the will of a teacher and principal. A child in the 4th grade reading on 1st grade level is not going to catch up. They will only fall further behind. Maybe it's time to place students together by skill level instead of age.
We supposedly keep raising the standards but our students don't have the foundation for the new standards. How does this help?
Parents need to quit blaming teachers so much and look in the mirror. I know a few teachers and they are working 14 plus hour days. They do 12 months of work in 9 months. They cannot spend all day teaching 25 children one on one with no homework. Help your child with homework and insure their success.
There is no way your going to make me believe there is a loss of money because people are dropping out.
DO you argue, that 1 to 3 years college is not an improvement over a highschool education?
I think your just trying to cover a money gap to keep from having to explain it, Thats what I think.
Who ever is probing them, keep probing, because this story is BULL S$IT
Some college is certainly helpful, but having a sheepskin doesn't always guarantee success. Look at some of the business and political leaders of Chattanooga who went to college, didn't graduate but have had great success in life -- Congressman Zach Wamp, Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, former Mayor Jon Kinsey, Hamilton County Commissioner Fred Skillern, Hamilton County Trustee Bill Hullander,businessman Henry Luken (the biggest landlord in Chattanooga)and Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Dedman, among many others.
One way to save billions of government dollars is to make colleges more efficient, allowing students who work hard to complete a bachelor's degree in three years, rather than the all too-typical five or six years today (as Sen. Lamar Alexander has suggested).
When less than half of those entering your college eventually graduate, there are systemic problems in either the college's admission requirements, counseling assistance, financial aid or student services.
Good point sideviews.
I also think more on line teaching and allowing and enabling students to achieve valid certification in their chosen field in as little time as possible is a logical thing to do.
Educators are good at educating but most are very poor business managers and education is a business.
Hold the university responsible for graduation rate by controlling drop outs just forces them to reduce academic requirements and that isn't good for our country or the students; not everybody can survive college
Why is the money spent on a curtailed education considered "wasted"?
The education those drop-outs received didn't just disappear like a sand castle in a high tide.
This is the same old argument brought up every year in California in the 50s and 60s -- when education there was truly :free". Those students -- grads and non-grads alike -- stayed there and raised the state to the world's FIFTH most powerful economy. It was ahead of most European countries; only the US, Japan, the entire Old South and another country beat it. It wasn't the "wasted education" that caused its fall -- it was the social engineering.
In the fullness of time, even ONE year's cost will eventually repay itself several times over. Tennessee's major problem is its lowered average level of education compared to the rest of the US.
The real problem, in most instances, is the commitment and effort by the student. Collegiate counseling and assistance is available. Not everybody can get good grades, but nearly everyone can pass a class if he or she works hard, reads the text, goes to class and asks for tutoring help. We need to do more to encourage hard work and discipline among our children and a sense of accountability. When you enroll in a 4-year school anticipating you will get a degree and then you drop out, you not only hurt yourself. You hurt your family and the taxpayer. Students need to understand their failures have societal costs.
"We need to do more to encourage hard work and discipline among our children and a sense of accountability."
Excellent point, TeaParty. It extends across the board, not just in education.
Or login with:
New Account