Christmas came early for those of you who’ve been waiting for more data on college completion rates.
Christmas came early for those of you who’ve been waiting for more data on college completion rates.
The Department of Education just released a preliminary report that tells us what we already know: we have a national college completion problem. We’ve worked hard to encourage access and enrollment at postsecondary institutions – and more Americans than ever are attending school – but once students arrive, many leave before attaining their degree or take far longer to graduate than they should.
As you work through the numbers, here are just a few of the solutions the Education and Workforce Committee put forward this Congress to improve college completion and encourage institutions to give their students the very best chance at success:
The PROSPER Act offers a $300 bonus to Pell-eligible students who take 15 credits per semester in an award year to accelerate completion and reduce debt.
PROSPER requires institutions to have some skin in the game by shifting the burden of unearned aid off of students and onto institutions when a student withdraws before program completion.
The PROSPER Act picks up the pace on aid eligibility timeframes to ensure that students are able to complete their education on time and enter the workforce quickly.
PROSPER sets aside up to $150 million in Federal Work-Study dollars for institutions with strong Pell Grant recipient graduation rates or strong graduation rate improvement.
The PROSPER Act puts reasonable limits on annual and aggregate borrowing for graduate students to encourage timely completion.
PROSPER reserves 10 percent of TRIO funds for institution grants that support initiatives that improve completion.
