Why Do Students Stop Out of College?
Three out of five students surveyed said academic underperformance played a key role in their decision to leave college for more than one term. Financial constraints and family responsibilities were also big drivers of students stopping out, according to a new report from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles. The two entities have partnered to “strengthen and lead” the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, according to the report.
“There are a lot of intersecting reasons why students stop out,” said Danielle Melidona, a senior analyst for ACE who co-directed the production of the report. “Not all students are choosing to leave for the same reason.”
The report, released in July, analyzed data collected by the Diverse Learning Environments Survey (administered by HERI) from October 2022 to April 2023 to gain more insight into why a growing number of students are leaving college without completing a degree or credential.
