Hildreth Institute in The Boston Globe

Enrolling kids in college isn’t enough

Students need support to persist to graduation.

This article originally appeared in The Boston Globe.

Massachusetts’ universally free community college program has succeeded in one important goal: it boosted the schools’ enrollment.

Following years of declines, the number of students at community colleges grew by 8.7 percent in 2023, the first year of free college for students over age 25, followed by an expected 14 percent growth this fall, according to preliminary data released by the Department of Higher Education on Tuesday. Overall, enrollment in public higher education was expected to increase by 6.5 percent this year, reversing years of declines, with essentially flat enrollment at the University of Massachusetts and a 1.2 percent increase at other state universities.

However, the next challenge education officials and colleges must address is keeping students in school until graduation. There, the latest data is far less encouraging. Only 55.1 percent of students who enter Massachusetts public higher education will complete a degree or certificate anywhere in the United States within six years, according to DHE.

At community colleges, only 34 percent of students who entered in 2017 completed a degree or certificate by 2023, a number that has remained constant for six years. State universities (excluding UMass) have seen a downward trend over several years in the number of students who are accumulating credits on time, persisting from one year to the next, and completing a degree. For the class entering in 2017, 69 percent earned a degree or certificate within six years, down from 72.9 percent five years earlier. UMass performs best on these metrics, with 77.4 percent of students earning a degree within six years.

The data also identify persistent racial disparities, with fewer Black and Hispanic students completing degrees compared to white students across public higher education. Lower-income students — those eligible for federal Pell grants — also have lower completion rates than higher-income students.

Completion is important because someone who earns a degree or certificate is more likely to find a job and earn higher wages. A report by The Boston Foundation, MassINC, and the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy found that community college offers a path to economic mobility, with the biggest benefits for those who earn a degree.

So how can schools better retain students? Two key ways are by ensuring students can afford their education and providing wraparound support services — like academic advising and mentoring — to help students advance.

The state already invested in affordability by making community college free and increasing financial aid for low- and middle-income students at state universities. There may be more that can be done to increase aid eligibility for middle-income students or offer bigger stipends for needs like child care and transportation. A recently released report by the state Advisory Council for the Advancement of Representation in Education suggests using financial aid to incentivize full-time attendance and increasing the availability of need-based rather than merit-based aid.

Equally important is a focus on support services. The advisory council report calls for the provision of evidence-based services like individualized advising and coaching, mental health care, emergency financial aid, and help with issues like housing and food insecurity.

Some of this work is ongoing. The Legislature created a grant program in 2021 to support students who are economically disadvantaged, first generation, minorities, have disabilities, or are LGBTQ. Early outcomes are promising. A study by the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges found that 63 percent of the program’s participants in 2022 persisted from one year to the next compared to 53 percent of their peers.

The current state budget includes $14 million to offer similar grants at four-year state universities for the first time. That’s a good thing. Vincent Pedone, executive director of the Massachusetts State Universities Council of Presidents, said campuses have been working on ideas for using that money, including buying software early warning systems to identify struggling students, hiring academic coaches, offering emergency money if a student needs financial help, or training faculty on working with first-generation students.

One model worth examining is in New York. The City University of New York created the ASAP program in 2007, which gives students three years of financial and intensive academic support at a community college if they attend school full-time and participate in programs. After three years, 40 percent of ASAP participants earned an associate’s degree, compared to 22 percent of comparable nonparticipants, according to an independent study. After eight years, 52 percent of ASAP participants earned an associate’s degree compared to nearly 40 percent of their peers.

A version of the program for students seeking a bachelor’s degree was piloted at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2015, and a study found similarly positive results in helping students stay in school.

Three Ohio community colleges that adopted programs modeled after ASAP reported 50 percent increases in graduation rates, higher rates of bachelor’s degree attainment, and increased earnings after college.

A group of Massachusetts education advocacy organizations — the Hildreth Institute, Latinos for Education, EdTrust, and others — urged Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler to learn from the New York programs. Advocates told the editorial board that the New York programs are more centralized and standardized than Massachusetts’, with all colleges implementing the same evidence-based practices, like having ASAP-dedicated advisers, career counselors, and tutoring services.

Another potential model is Georgia State University, which uses predictive analytics and tracks every student’s course enrollment and performance through software. The system flags when a student enrolls in a course that doesn’t apply to their degree or gets a poor grade in a prerequisite course. An adviser will intervene so a student can sign up for a different course or seek academic help.

Getting students in the door at college is the first step. The goal should be getting them out of college with a degree two or four years later.