Building on Completion Gains: Amplifying Progress and Closing Persistent Gaps

Jan 26, 2023
  • Description

Across the country, colleges using Complete College America (CCA) strategies are improving graduation rates. But despite these overall gains, data continues to show persistent institutional performance gaps for BILPOC (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color) students and students ages 25 and older.

Students in both of these groups disproportionately attend college part time, and data consistently shows a range of institutional performance gaps for part-time students. But these facts tells only part of the story.

Enrollment intensity is not a factor in all of the institutional performance gaps that BILPOC students and students ages 25 and older experience. For example, part-time enrollment rates cannot account for these students' experiencing dramatically lower gateway course completion rates.

Thus, colleges must use multiple lenses for reforms.

Of course, colleges must implement reforms to address the challenges facing part-time students. These changes—such as course schedules that accommodate working learners and supports that facilitate increased enrollment intensity—are essential for improving retention and completion rates.

At the same time, improvements that better serve part-time students are not enough. Colleges and universities also must address institutional performance gaps that are specific to BILPOC students, students ages 25 and older, and students who fall in both of these groups.

Closing these gaps begins with identifying them. This report includes data from CCA Alliance members, allowing CCA to provide national numbers on metrics not tracked in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Using this CCA data, combined with publicly available data, this report highlights critical institutional performance gaps—and explains how colleges can act to close them