Is the Key to Your Equity Strategy More Support for Part-Time Students?

Here’s a sobering fact about the community college part-time student population: 47% of part-time students believe they will graduate within two years, but only 8% of part-time students actually complete their degree in double the time.

Part-time students now comprise the majority of the community college student population, but our existing support strategies aimed at students attending full-time have proven ineffective.

Today's students are more diverse than ever—our students are single parents, military-affiliated, have disclosed disabilities, or seek financial aid—but one commonality they share is the likelihood that they will have limited time on campus and added obstacles blocking them from completing their degree.

In fact, 83% of community college students will enroll part-time or stop out at least once before they graduate. With college enrollment on the decline, college leaders can no longer afford to focus solely on full-time students, as the success of the part-time population is a critical element of sustainability in a climate of increased competition, reduced enrollment, and performance-based funding.