Vox Clamantis: Addressing The Challenge Of Stop-Outs In Public Higher Education

This research study examined data on stop-out behavior at University of North Carolina system postsecondary institutions for students matriculating from the 2009-10 to 2013-14 academic years in an effort to better understand the factors and circumstances that lead to a decision to suspend progress on earning an undergraduate degree as well as identify those targeted interventions and incentives most likely to reduce the number of stop-outs. The study finds that regular and significant patterns of variation in GPA, credit hours earned, percentage of Pell Grant recipients, and percentage of students who lost one or more financial aid sources immediately prior to the last semester enrolled suggest, for high-achieving students, a strong link between inadequate financial resources and the decision to stop-out but, for low-achieving students, the factors that lead to a decision to stop-out are more complex. In addition, the study found that the percentage of low income students in the population that withdrew from school was higher than the percentage of low income students enrolled in college nationally and, in some subgroups of the population, 70% or more above the national average. Recommendations for targeted interventions and incentives as well as changes to existing higher education policies are included.