Lack of Financial Support for U.S. Community College Dropouts
A college degree significantly benefits students, indirectly promoting community growth and development and improving a country’s economic standards. A college graduate has better job opportunities than their peers who only completed high school. Among the importance of a college degree are a high-income generation, job satisfaction, professional skills development, improved social interactions, and better livelihood (Lin et al., 2023). College students fail to acquire college degrees for numerous reasons, including lack of parental support, poor performance, and health and mental conditions. However, lack of financial support is the most contributing factor to increasing rates of college dropouts (Ortagus et al., 2021). The United States community college students leave school despite being academically successful due to inadequate finances to manage their learning expenses. Community college students require financial support to manage their tuition fees and meet their living expenses to promote a smooth transition in their learning. Lack of financial support significantly affects students’ academic performance due to financial stress that develops among students due to inadequate finances. Therefore, the multilayered issues surrounding U.S. community college student dropouts necessitate a nuanced approach that acknowledges the consequences of lack of financial support, identifies and addresses contributing factors, and implements targeted interventions to reduce college dropouts and promote academic achievement.
Research Questions
What factors contribute to community college student dropouts?
What are the consequences of a lack of financial support for community college students?
What intervention measures help to reduce community college student dropouts?
Consequences of Lack of Financial Support
Financial difficulties play a significant role in the decision of many community college students to withdraw from their studies. Students from low-income backgrounds are the most vulnerable population. Low-income parents have inadequate finances to cater for their children’s personal and education expenses (Evans et al., 2020). The most susceptible group comprises students who benefited from scholarships and other financial supports in their high school education. Hence, failure to render the same financial support to the students in their college education affects their studies negatively. The students lack access to basic and vital needs that promote an effective learning atmosphere, resulting in poor grades and performance. Low-performance students lack a sense of belonging in their learning environment, contributing to their dropout and uncompleted degrees.
Firstly, the high U.S. community college dropout rates result from the lack of financial support. Students have limited access to financial aid, including grants, loans, and scholarships, to service their personal and learning expenses. Some students have access to financial support, but the application and payment conditions hinder them from acquiring adequate support. Students leave college without achieving their degree due to unmet learning demands (Ortagus et al., 2021). Financial support and aid are essential in transitioning from high school to college education, especially among students from low-income families. Students require financial aid across different aspects of their lives to manage their basic needs and promote their learning potential. Students with limited access to financial aid pay less concentration to their studies, leading to failures and an incomplete college degree. Poor performance prompts the students to withdraw from their studies, negatively impeding their future living standards.
Extreme financial needs among community college students in the United States encourage students to exist before attaining their degrees. Students have numerous essential needs that help them thrive in their education. Apart from their education fees and expenses, students require financial aid to cater for their food expenses, housing, financial health, and safety and well-being (Hart, 2019). Achieving a student’s basic needs helps them to thrive academically. Lack of finances to cater for a student’s food expenses subjects them to depression and stress, which affects their engagement in learning activities. The students pursue their college education before attaining their degree in search of income-generating ventures to manage their living needs.
Additionally, lack of financial support negatively impacts community college students’ academic performance. Inadequate financial aid among college students influences their concentration and determination to develop professional skills. The students stressed managing their daily expenses with available resources. Some students fail to attend to their routines and classes while finding ways to meet their basic needs. The students lack adequate time to attend to the assignments, and some miss some exams due to divided attention between their studies and income generation. The student’s overall academic performance deteriorates from time to time. The students may drop out at their own will, or the learning institution may expel them from the college following their performance.
As a result, numerous community college students encounter difficulties when attempting part-time employment to support their needs while pursuing their education. Students have numerous needs and expenses related to their education and personal lives. Lack of adequate financial support prompts some students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, to engage in job ventures to generate income to support their needs. The students may start overlooking the value of their studies and pay much attention to their employment, despite their income. The students divert from their education goals, increasing their chance of exiting college without achieving the anticipated degree. Increased college dropouts increase unskilled personnel in the job market, degrading a country’s productivity and performance.
Furthermore, the financial strain imposed by the cost of textbooks and materials can lead to many community college students giving up on their education. College students need various learning resources and materials besides tuition and fees. Also, the students incur expensive costs when procuring essential electronics, such as a laptop, to support their learning. Most students in community colleges come from low-income backgrounds, making them more vulnerable to access to supportive resources. Limited financial support increases the chance of their students abandoning their education due to hardships encountered in the learning environment. Access to supportive resources, including textbooks and electronics, increases college dropout rates due to demoralization and lack of belonging in the learning activities.
Factors Contributing to the Lack of Financial Support
Increasing tuition costs and scarcity of available grants exacerbate the issue of financial aid for students who leave community college. Students are entitled to specific financial support to manage their education expenses. However, the community colleges continue to increase the tuition costs and fees, subjecting the students to added expenses with the government’s limited financial support. The students must find other ways to acquire finances and cater to the increasing costs. The lack of additional finances to support the ever-rising education demands excludes particular populations from their college studies. The students leave school with uncompleted studies.
Additionally, insufficient public funds for community colleges impede the institutions’ ability to offer students financial assistance. Community colleges provide affordable education to all students regardless of their financial status, especially students from low-income backgrounds. Insufficient public funding for community colleges limits their financial support, affecting the quality of education for college students. Community colleges have limited resources to procure updated equipment and technology for implementing learning activities. The students have limited exposure to modern resources essential to developing their professional skills. The most vulnerable population acquires a low standard of education, impairing their career success. Insufficient public funds for community colleges lead to overcrowded classrooms due to the unavailability of essential resources to render quality education to the students.
Consequently, insufficient financial counseling and guidance programs leave community college students uninformed about the availability of financial support. Most college students are naïve and unaware of how to acquire college financial support. The government may have adequate resources to support all students’ learning needs, but the students may be less acquainted with financial support procedures. Financial counseling and guidance increase awareness about available resources and provide students with strategies for accessing the resources. Students apply for financial support, reducing college dropouts due to inaccessibility to financial aid. College institutions should provide financial counseling programs to students to increase their access to available resources and improve their determination and commitment to learning objectives.
The restricted availability of emergency funds and relief grants exposes community college students to financial emergencies (Baugus, 2019). Financial emergencies, such as medical expenses, force students to choose between attending to their basic needs and furthering their education. Restricted emergency funds and relief subject students to unexpected financial challenges, making it difficult for them to attend to their emergencies and balance their studies, increasing the likelihood of exiting their studies. Students should have adequate emergency funds to meet unexpected needs and reduce the possibility of community college students dropping out. Students subjected to financial emergency funds suffer from financial stress when struck by unexpected problems impairing their academic success. Insufficient financial support may prompt students to acquire credit cards or high-interest loans to address the emergency, which may have long-term financial consequences.
Intervention Strategies for Reducing Community College Dropout
Community colleges should offer their students financial support programs to equip them with effective strategies for procuring and managing available resources. Proper financial management strategies reduce the level of community college student dropouts. The students learn effective ways to prioritize available resources, cultivating an effective learning environment. Financial counseling and training programs prepare them to be a good steward of available resources in their future endeavors. The students can procure the most essential and effective resources and materials to support their learning needs. Financial aid programs further help the students monitor and become accountable for the financial support they provide.
Community college students should have adequate access to all vital resources to help their transition process in college studies. The students should have cost-effective housing resources to provide conducive accommodation to enhance their safety and well-being. Without cost-effective housing, community college students prioritize attending to their personal needs before paying for their tuition fees, impacting the quality of their education. Community colleges should offer their students adequate resources to address all their needs and avoid forgoing education expenses over their personal needs. The learning institutions should support holistic individual development by providing effective strategies to address their students’ financial, emotional, and academic well-being. Further, community colleges should evaluate the needs of all students and prioritize addressing the basic and learning needs of students from low-income backgrounds.
Additionally, community colleges should offer students with adaptable work-study programs. Work-study programs provide students with the best strategies and practices to manage their work and education (Weiss & Bloom, 2022). The programs encourage students to obtain employment opportunities to raise their income, which is essential in managing their increasing demands. Work-study programs help students plan their daily schedules, avoid missing class sessions, and deliver assigned duties on time. Students have sufficient time for their academic development. Also, the extra time in their learning schedule can help them enroll in productive ventures to balance their life and education. Hence, the absence of work-study programs discourages students from effectively managing their work and education, contributing to poor performance and increasing college dropout rates.
Furthermore, limited access to childcare services hinders effective learning among young parents who desire to pursue their education, reducing financial support for community college dropouts. The government should support the needs of all learners, including parents willing to improve their skills to achieve their dream careers. Through the work-study programs, the parents can effectively manage their work and education through the child nurturing support rendered by childcare services. Childcare services help parent learners to concentrate on their learning needs and eradicate the chances of college dropout. Students have ample time to develop their skills. Community colleges should address students’ needs to improve the quality of education and eradicate the dropout rates.
Conclusion
College students leave their studies without achieving their degree due to various reasons, including lack of family support, poor performance, inability to fit into the institution’s culture, and mental health issues. However, financial constraints are the significant factors influencing the successful completion of a college education. Lack of financial support, including scholarships, grants, and loans, prompts students to engage in income-generating activities to acquire income to cater for high-demanding life and education expenses. Lack of financial support affects students’ academic performance, increasing their dropout chance. Some students extend their study period due to financial difficulties encountered in their educational journey. The increasing tuition costs and limited access to financial aid are the key contributors to high community college students’ dropout rates. Students source additional finances to address the increasing educational expenses. Due to insufficient financial support, the students become vulnerable to credit cards and high-interest loans to cater for their emergency expenses. The students also have limited choices to affordable tuition fees and scholarships, hindering their access to quality education.
However, community colleges focus on implementing effective strategies and practices to reduce their students’ increasing dropout rates. The community colleges offer financial counseling and guidance programs, encouraging students to manage the available resources effectively and prioritize their needs based on their importance. Also, colleges provide work-study programs that aim to inform students on the best practices for balancing their personal lives, work, and education. The work-study programs also encourage college students to manage their time effectively by utilizing their free time in productive activities that improve their well-being. Further, community colleges offer childcare services to parents willing to advance their education. Parenting can be a barrier to successful college completion and encourages dropouts, where the parents prioritize nurturing their children over education. Effective education policies support the learning needs of community college students by allocating adequate public funds to the institutions to cater to their learning needs.
References
Baugus, K. E. (2019). Food insecurity, inadequate childcare, & transportation disadvantage: student retention and persistence of community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1627956
Evans, W. N., Kearney, M. S., Perry, B., & Sullivan, J. X. (2020). Increasing community college completion rates among low‐income students: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial evaluation of a case‐management intervention. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 39(4), 930-965. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22256
Hart, B. A. (2019). Hanging in, stopping out, dropping out: Community college students in an era of precarity. Teachers College Record, 121(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811912100105
Lin, Y., Fay, M. P., & Fink, J. (2023). Stratified trajectories: Charting equity gaps in program pathways among community college students. Research in Higher Education, 64(4), 547-573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09714-7
Ortagus, J. C., Skinner, B. T., & Tanner, M. J. (2021). Investigating why academically successful community college students leave college without a degree. AERA Open, 7, 23328584211065724. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211065724
Weiss, M. J., & Bloom, H. S. (2022). ” What works” for community college students? A brief synthesis of 20 years of MDRC’s randomized controlled trials. MD
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Lack of Financial Support for U.S. Community College Dropouts
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