College Completion in US – Too few are completing postsecondary education

American postsecondary education faces urgency to respond to a decades-long shift in the labor market: a declining share of good jobs today are available to those with a high school diploma or less. But too few American students are completing postsecondary education. Just over half of college enrollees will graduate within six years and the
odds are worse if they start in a two-year college and if they are black or Hispanic.

The roots of the completion challenge are multifaceted. While students see college as the next step to the future or a career, once enrolled, many find themselves in classes that look a lot like high school. Participation in remedial coursework is high across the board, but particularly at community colleges and for students of color. Many college students today also balance responsibilities, with nearly 40 percent of today’s college students working while in school.

The rising cost of higher education today compounds the effect of these trends on college completion. Students may grow frustrated spending time and money on remediation. The cost of higher education also puts pressure on students to work while going to school. This can contribute to hard decisions about taking time o from school altogether to work. All of these challenges underline the urgent need for more a ordable and exible postsecondary options.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Youth Apprenticeship in America Today: Connecting High School Students to Apprenticeship