SPOTLIGHT | Exploring the Exodus from Higher Education & Ways to Fix It
Client: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Project: Declining College Enrollments Study | Partnership Length: 2008 - Present | HCM Service Area Spotlight: Market + Policy Research | Portfolio Category: Postsecondary
We partnered with EDGE Research for the Gates Foundation to ask over 1600 high school graduates in seven states (California, Florida, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington), why they are opting out of college.
OVERVIEW
Enrollment is declining in higher education, and while it’s easy to blame it on the pandemic, data show it has been going on for longer than that. At the same time, we know that a postsecondary education is one of the best drivers of economic and social mobility. So where are the students, and what can we do to change their minds?
OUR WORK + IMPACT
In the fall of 2022, we released in partnership with Edge Research, and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, key findings from our recent study, “Exploring the Exodus from Higher Education.” The study, conducted from January–April 2022, included 11 focus groups and a robust online survey (n=1,675) of high school graduates, 18-30 years of age, who decided not to go to college or dropped out of a 2-year or 4-year college program. The survey fielded March–April 2022.
The purpose of this research is to understand why growing numbers of people are choosing not to go to college and what might help these learners decide to give college a chance.
Core Findings Indicate that this Audience Shares Mixed Views on the Value of Post-High School Education
Our research found that first, people are thinking about and talking about education beyond high school in new ways that relate to value and return on investment (ROI). Respondents indicated that they are weighing the opportunity cost of a job versus college. They want to know that their investment of both time and money is going to mean something at the end of the day, and they or too many people around them have found out that this investment doesn't pay off. Related to that, the education marketplace is changing. People are finding learning opportunities outside of traditional higher ed that are faster, cheaper, more targeted to specific skills, such as on-the-job training that can lead to advancement in their current job.
Another core theme that emerged is that the mental health toll of the past few years, the pandemic, racial unrest, economic and uncertainty, and frankly lack of trust in institutions of all sorts is very, very real. And then finally, at the end of the day, nobody's making it easy for people to get a postsecondary degree. Unless you have family or a close friend who's been through it, navigating the system is complicated, and people are trying to figure out not just financial aid, but what courses they should take, the best degree option, etc. Top of mind questions were, “How do you maximize your time and effort,” and “How do you get a job when you're done?” This group responded positively when presented with various supports that would help them navigate the system.
As Allan Golston, President of the US Program for The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote about the study and results, “We know that achieving an education after high school helps create more opportunities for individuals to climb the economic ladder and achieve economic security. To this end, we’re concerned about college enrollment declines and are committed to working collaboratively across the education-to-workforce continuum to help students graduate high school, successfully transition to postsecondary education, and complete a certificate or degree of labor market value. Students are telling us what they need, now it’s up to us to deliver.”
PARTNERS
PRESS
Why Aren’t People Going to College
by Rick Seltzer | Higher Ed Dive
Some High-School Grads Say No to College. Here’s Why — and What Might Change Their Minds
by Audrey Williams June | Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Would-be Students Aren’t Choosing College
by Sara Weissman | Inside Higher Ed
by Allan Golston, President, US Program – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Where Are the Students: New Research into College Enrollment Declines
Gates Foundation – US Program, Postsecondary Success
