Recruiting students is a small piece of any effective higher education strategy. Once students enroll, assisting them on the path to graduation and degree attainment becomes a major priority for faculty members and college administrators. 

Community colleges are in a unique position to prevent degree abandonment, as students pursue shorter degrees or are bridging the gap between a job or college transfer.

To retain students enrolled in community college, decision-makers must address the challenges and expectations that are specific to these learners, which are usually different from students enrolled in four-year degrees.

What’s the best way to retain students with practical and thoughtful retention strategies? Given the declining community college enrollment over the past few years, it’s a question that community colleges can no longer ignore.

What is Student Retention?

Student retention keeps students on track to a chosen degree, or until they complete all requirements within an academic program. Retention strategies help students overcome personal and academic hurdles. Resources and support structures prevent degree abandonment so that students actually earn a degree for the time, money, and effort they’ve invested in their academic plan.

MSM Higher Ed offers the following definition a student retention:

“The definition of retention in higher education is the process of keeping students enrolled in college, community colleges, or other institutions of higher education. It’s an important part of higher education because it affects graduation rates, which indicate how well an institution is performing for its students. One way to think about student retention is as a balance between the number of students entering and leaving college each year. If too many leave and not enough enter, then institutions will be considered to have low retention rates.”

Greater retention has implications for everyone—attainable degrees for individual students, improved classroom experiences for instructors, and growth for institutions. 

Why is Retention Important in the Community College Setting?

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Clear, up to 41% of first-year community college students fail to return to school in order to complete a degree. For a multitude of reasons, these students leave credits on the table and stop attending before they have academic accolades to show for their work.

Retention is crucial for high-risk students in any setting, but at community colleges, degree programs often take two years (or less) to complete. This means that students can be enrolled for only one or two semesters before changing courses.

Retention is also important for the community college system at large. From a macro standpoint, many community institutions have a longstanding reputation in the community. They also receive more funding from municipal or government sources and do not have private endowments. Maintaining active enrollment, therefore, is critical for keeping the doors open and for helping more non-traditional students find the resources they need to succeed.

5 Challenges that Shape the Student Experience at Community Colleges

Community college students are drawn to these degree programs based on academic and personal factors, including physical proximity to a community campus. Many attendees are local, work vocational roles, or need flexibility with scheduling. 

The community college student persona is defined by unique challenges and concerns. As such, college leaders must deliver worthwhile solutions that mitigate these challenges and make the path to degree attainment easier.

Cost of Education

When you factor in tuition, room and board, living expenses, fees, and interest rates, the current cost of a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S. can potentially exceed $500,000. This is far above the affordability that many students seek when it comes to achieving a degree.

Even modest estimations put the cost of a four-year degree at a typical private institution at about $37,000 per year. For many students, extremely high costs don’t outweigh the benefits of obtaining a degree or earning a post-graduation salary. Community colleges are often more affordable for students at all levels. The Community College Review estimates yearly attendance to be around $5,000 maximum, even for out-of-state students. 

Balancing Academic and Personal Responsibilities

Many community college students also have busy lives outside of the classroom. Juggling personal and academic responsibilities can take its toll on academic performance and eventually, on retention or degree attainment. 

In recent student surveys, many students report that the demands associated with paying personal expenses and taking care of themselves or family and friends can contribute to overall stress. When students work to provide or maintain job duties, their time for classroom and academic activities naturally takes a hit. 

Limited Access to Resources

Despite enrollment troubles, community colleges in the United States still enroll over five million students per year. Many academic policy-makers see community institutions as a gateway to further education for millions. And it's true—with public funding and political sponsorship, community colleges have legislative backing to reach underserved students.

The focus shifts to helping first-generation or low-income attendees gain access to resources that could completely shape their academic futures. Although community schools garner support, they still spend less money per attendee than do larger, privatized institutions.

Expanding access to academic, career, and personal resources is one way to close the retention gap at community schools and increase completion rates. 

Undefined Career Paths

Another challenge at community institutions is helping students pick a chosen career path. Because students often transfer credits or build upon degrees (by first earning Associate’s degrees), what they do at the community level should be applicable and transferable. 

Career and professional resources are valuable for students who have yet to decide on a career choice but who may have less flexibility (or finances) to go back and forth several times. Community college learners need the best guidance possible in order to put their earned credits—and degrees—to the best use professionally. 

4 Practical Retention Strategies for Community Education Institutions

While it’s true that retention efforts need to be suited to community institutions, leaders and educators still need the best tools. Modern resources and software help staff members connect with digitally-savvy students who have diverse needs, experiences, and concerns. By following the strategies below, you can build trust and rapport with community college students who are determined to achieve their academic goals.

Emphasize Student Support Services

Community colleges often enroll a wide range of students, including those from diverse age groups and backgrounds. As a result, it’s tricky to design programs that work for everyone. What’s most important in terms of support is accessibility.

Do your students know where and how to find retention resources? Are the programs in place delivering measurable value to attendees? How are you measuring student engagement as a way to identify students who are missing important support structures?

Whether a community college focuses on academic advising, student lounges for socialization, or career mentorship opportunities—these options need to be visible and available. Advertise your options so that students know where to turn for help.

Focus on Remediation Early 

Early warning signs and academic indicators can be extremely helpful in preventing students from abandoning their chosen degree paths. First, however, school leaders must define the milestones and academic progress benchmarks that illustrate whether a student is at-risk or on track. These metrics can be developed based on grades, attendance rates, replies to outreach, or deposits.

When students show initial signs of degree abandonment, early intervention is crucial for longevity. In practice, this can be as simple as matching a student with a tutor in a particular subject area. It could also mean providing extra financial resources when a student struggles to make tuition payments. 

Whatever the situation might be, it’s always best to act early. Adopting policies that are too lenient or taking a “wait and see” approach to student success can do more harm than good, particularly if students are questioning whether a degree is worth it.

Develop a Campus-Wide System for Retention

Everyone in the campus community needs to be on board with retention strategies. Administrators must provide expectations and educate staff members about what to do when students meet certain “red flags” or criteria.

The North Carolina Community College system has been widely recognized for its emphasis on comprehensive retention strategies that boost enrollment and encourage more degree attainment. In North Carolina, community college leaders focus on initiating programs that cater to their students’ lifestyles, including hybrid or flexible course options that help students attend while juggling work and travel.

In systems like these, student services personnel work to build trust by providing practical solutions to real student needs. When this happens, students are more likely to turn to campus resources when they need help or self-identify as being at risk.

Invest in Student Coaching and Personalized Support

Even in a busy community college setting, providing a personalized touch makes an enormous difference along the road to success. In several research studies designed to measure student outcomes, personalized attention from an academic mentor, coach, or advisor has a measurable impact on retention.

One-on-one student messaging and academic support are highly desirable for students—regardless of age, personal background, or income level. As community colleges hope to boost enrollment and retention in the future, focusing on genuine student engagement is one proven way to ensure that students cross the finish line.

Boost Community College Engagement

To better engage with community college students, you need to know and understand their educational needs and goals. Not only does this commitment build trust and confidence, but a personalized approach always focuses on relationship-building as a key aspect of degree attainment. And in a smaller community college setting, this type of quality, one-on-one attention can truly make a difference in retention and student persistence.

A student engagement platform like Element451 helps your community college make more genuine, personal student connections—while accomplishing so much more. Take advantage of the best CRM for student engagement, and start delivering personalized messaging to attract and keep more of your all-star students.