Imagine a college student and you might picture a fresh-faced high school grad. But a new report suggests there are more adult learners with some college but no degree than high school grads. And the Commonwealth could be doing more to get them back into college and into the workforce.
There are lots of reasons someone drops out of college, but Scott Lomas with ReUp Education has an idea: “The data tells us a lot of things that boil down to life got in the way.”
But a majority of these some college/no degree former students, 80 percent according to Lomas, are eligible to re-enroll and have aged out of dependency on their parents which means they can qualify for more tuition assistance.
Lomas said there are about 1 million such could-be students in Virginia. And in a new report from ReUp called the Adult Learner Engagement Index, Virginia scores well but it’s losing ground to out of state, online programs.
“Virginia has the programs online and on ground to serve that population," Lomas said. "But they’re being out-marketed and out-served by online institutions.”
Sabena Moretz is with the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia. She said the Commonwealth’s private college system serves about 42 thousand students who didn’t start until after they turned 25, about twice the number served by the state’s public college system. She said Liberty University makes up about half of that number, and with a marketing budget in the 10s of millions, that might be why. She also said convenient local access makes a difference.
“They are less intimidated by this nice little local institution they pass every day on their way to work,” Moretz told Radio IQ.
Another avenue for access? Virginia’s Community Colleges. David Doré is Chancellor of the state-backed system. He said they have a number of programs that allow for rapid credentialing, but there’s room for improvement.
“It’s not just that high ticket marketing, right?" Doré said. "I think our colleges are trying to work more cohesively with our community partners."
