SOME COLLEGE AND
NO DEGREE
How individuals who attend and don’t graduate feel
about education

EDUCATION NETWORKINTRODUCTION
Over the past 20 years, more than 31 million students
have enrolled in college and left without receiving a
degree or certificate.1 Re-enrolling this “some college,no degree” population is at the center of many states’
plans for boosting the educational attainment of their
population.

Among many resources highlighting the importance of these efforts, the National Student
Clearinghouse recently came out with a report providing a descriptive overview of the somecollege, no degree population nationally and for each of the 50 states on key objective
variables.2 The report highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of this population
to make re-enrollment efforts more effective. Adding to this descriptive understanding, ourreport provides the firsthand subjective perspectives of more than 40,000 individuals who
stopped out of college before completing a degree.
The data and insights shared here are drawn from the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer
Survey: an unprecedented telephone survey of more than 340,000 U.S. adults ages 18–65
that explores their educational experiences and attitudes. Strada Education Network, LuminaFoundation, and Gallup collaborated on this report as part of a larger series of reports on
adults without degrees.

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Some College, No Degree: A National View of Students with Some
College Enrollment, but No Completion. Accessed Dec. 4, 2019, https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport7.
2
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Some College, No Degree. Accessed Dec. 4, 2019,https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/SCND_Report_2019.pdf.
3
Sample size for likely to enroll questions = 3,021. Sample size for quality questions=8,860.
12

Based on the responses of 42,190 adults ages 25-64 with some college, but no degree andwho are not currently enrolled,3 the report’s key findings include:•

The most common reason people cited for stopping out was difficulty balancing school
and work at the same time.

•

The factors that would have the most impact on getting this population to re-enroll areaffordability, schedule flexibility and a guaranteed employment outcome connected tofurther education.

•

Those who stopped out rated lower the quality of the academic and career advising
they received than peers who completed degrees.

•

Only 19 percent of these adults report they are no longer interested or don’t need tocomplete their education. Cost and time pressures continue to be barriers that keeppeople from re-enrolling.

•

Adults with some college but no degree say that if they enroll in additional courses ortraining, they are most likely to do so via an employer. When considering nonemployer
providers, they are most likely to enroll at a community college.

•

Younger people, people of color and those who are working in certain occupations,such as food preparation, are more likely to say they will enroll in additional courses ortraining.

3

WHO ARE THEY?
Many state policies are focused on re-enrolling adults with some college, no degree, butthese policies are often broadly stated and could improve their impact with additional
understanding of this population. There is a wide range of experience in terms of whenpeople stopped out, where they had previously been enrolled, and their current income
and employment status. The adults in the survey were split almost evenly between thetype of institution they had attended, with slightly more having been enrolled at a two-year
institution. Highlighting their repeated efforts, about half of these individuals had attended
multiple postsecondary institutions – one-third had attended two, 12 percent had attended
three, and 5 percent had attended four or more. While Black and Hispanic students are more
likely to stop out than white students, the majority of college stop-outs are white.4 The raceand ethnicity breakdown of the some college, no degree survey sample was 65 percent
white, 17 percent Black, 15 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Asian and 2 percent some other raceor ethnicity. About half were earning less than $35,000 per year, one-fourth between $35,000
and $60,000, and another fourth $60,000 or more. About two-thirds were employed full-time.

National Center for Education Statistics. Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups, Indicator 23:
Postsecondary Graduation Rates. Accessed Dec. 4, 2019, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_red.asp.
44

FIGURE 1 T H E SO M E CO L L E GE , N O DE GR E E P OP UL ATION

Type of Institutions Attended52%

stopped out ofassociate degree
programs

47%

Race/Ethnicity

Number of Institutions Attended

51%
33%
12%
5%

stopped out ofbachelor’s degree
programs

2% 1%
1 institution

15%
2 institutions

17%

65%

3 institutions

4 or more institutionsn Whiten Black

Income Leveln Hispanicn Othern AsianEmployment Status

30%
25%

24%

20%
15%

4%

10%

8%

59%

5%

5%
0%
0 to
<=$15,000$15,000 to<=$35,000$35,000 to<=$60,000$60,000 to<=$100,000$100,000n Employed Full Time (Employer)n Unemployedn Employed Full Time (Self)

n Not in Workforce5

n Employed Part Time
Not in the workforce refers to people who are not working and not looking for work, as opposed to unemployed,
who are not working but are seeking work.
55WHY DID THEY STOP OUT?
Understanding why people stopped out is key both to re-enrolling as well as increasing
retention and preventing future stop-outs. As part of the Strada-Gallup Education
Consumer Survey, an open-ended question was asked about why the respondent tookcollege courses but did not complete a degree. In all, 38,468 adults between the ages of
25-64 answered this question. Adults gave many different reasons for why they did notcomplete the degree they started. The most common had to do with the need to work andthe difficulty balancing school and work:

What is the main reason you took college courses but did notcomplete a degree?
“The main reason was I was trying to work and go to college, and I wasn’t getting
good grades, so I just stopped going to college. I couldn’t multitask.”“I worked full time and went to school full time. It became too much. I had fourkids at home at the time. It was just too much.”“Family – you have to make money; it’s hard to go to college and make moneyat the same time, especially in nursing school.”

Other common reasons cited were financial pressures or other life events or personal
challenges (See appendix for Table 1: What is the main reason you took college courses
but did not complete a degree?).
Stopped out students also may have suffered from a lack of guidance – most did not havegood experiences with academic or career advising while they were enrolled. As seen in
Figure 2, more than half (51 percent) of students who had stopped out from a two-year
institution rated their academic advising as poor or fair, and 55 percent rated their careeradvising as poor or fair. For those who had stopped out of a four-year institution, 54
percent rated academic advising as poor or fair, and 59 percent rated career advising as
poor or fair. In contrast, most adults who attained an associate or bachelor’s degree rated
their academic and career advising as good or excellent.

6

FIGURE 2

Q U A L IT Y O F ADV IS IN G F O R COL L EGE GRAD UATES AN D STUD EN TS WH O D O N OTC O M P L E T E A DE GR E E

Career Advising(completed bachelor’s degree)
Career Advising(stopped out of 4-year)
Career Advising(completed associates degree)
Career Advising(stopped out of 2-year)
Academic Advising(completed bachelor’s degree)
Academic Advising(stopped out of 4-year)
Academic Advising(completed associates degree)
Academic Advising(stopped out of 2-year)
0%

10%

20%

30%

n Poor40%n Fair50%

60%

n Good

70%

80%

90%

100%

n Excellent

WHY HAVE THEY NOT RE-ENROLLED?
Another open-ended question on the survey asked adults with some college, no degree
why they are not currently enrolled. This question was answered by 37,101 adults age 25-64.
We found that for most people, the reasons they stopped out of college continue to be theprimary barriers to them returning. Those who stopped out because of difficulty balancing
school and work were most likely to say that they are not enrolled because they are alreadyworking and do not have enough time for classes. Those who stopped out due to financial
issues are most likely to say that they are not enrolled because of cost. Many times, worries
about time and cost are bound together – people need money to pay for education, but theyneed to work to have the money and, therefore, do not have enough time.
At the same time, a new theme also emerges: About 1 in 5 were simply no longer interested
or did not feel that additional education would benefit them in their career (19 percent).
Others express a similar sentiment: They are unsure if school would be worth the investmentof time (11 percent) and money (12 percent), and they have work responsibilities that are
pre-eminent (17 percent). (See appendix for Table 2 : What is the main reason you are notcurrently taking college courses?).

6

Percentages do not sum to 100 as some respondents chose to answer “don’t know” or refused the question.

7

What is the main reason you are not currently taking college
courses?
“There’s no need for me to. I own my own business, and I am doing well at it.”“I just don’t feel the need to go. I like the job I have right now, and I don’t need to
go to school with what I do.”“Too many bills to pay and I have to work full time and can’t afford to go back until I
get more financially stable.”“I have my family, so I have to pay rent, and I don’t get paid much, so I don’t havetime.”“I want to know which direction I want to go. I don’t want to just go to college to go
to college; I want my degree to be towards something that’s useful.”

WILL THEY COME BACK?
In Strada’s report “Back to School?,” we found that adults with some college, no degree
are no more likely than those who never went to college at all to say that they needadditional education. They are only marginally more likely than other adults without
degrees to say that they plan to enroll in postsecondary education within the next five
years. Given the priority of the some college, no degree population for many state policies
and institutional efforts, it is worth digging deeper to understand the nuance in likelihood
to enroll within this group.6
Across all groups, people said they would be more likely to enroll in courses or training
offered by an employer than any other provider. The role of employers has become
increasingly paramount given the ever-evolving changes in skills needed to compete.
Employers have always been responsible for creating jobs and, to some degree, providing
training, but there has been a significant shift toward identifying market needs and helping
to ensure that education providers, including employers, are preparing learners to meetthose needs. Given that many of those who have stopped out are working, it makes sensethat they would prefer to re-enroll in courses or training where they are.

The question wording was: “On a five-point scale, where 5 means extremely likely and 1 means not at all likely,
in the next five years, how likely are you to enroll in courses or training offered through each of the following?”
This series of questions was added to the survey in January 2019. The total n for these questions for the somecollege, no degree population is 3,021. After January 2019 this series of questions was only asked of those age 49
and younger, so the sample differs from the broader sample in terms of age categories: 38 percent age 25-34, 32
percent age 35-44, 21 percent age 45-54, and 10 percent age 55-64. This group is also slightly more likely to bein the workforce than the broader sample (81 percent versus 76 percent). Race and ethnicity, income and type of
institution attended were similar to the broader sample.
7

8

Looking at nuances within subpopulations, age is the first distinction found (See Figure 3).
Unsurprisingly, younger people were more likely to say they plan to re-enroll.7 While all
age groups said they would be most likely to enroll via an employer, the youngest group of
stop-outs had a relatively higher likelihood of enrolling at a community college comparedto older age groups.
FIGURE 3

SE L F - R E P O RT E D L IK E L IHO O D T O EN ROL L IN COURSES OR TRAIN IN G WITH IN
F I V E Y E AR S B Y AGE

Percent
extremely
likely

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

25-34
n Four-year

35-44

n Community College

45-54
n Trade School

55-64
n Onlinen Employer

There were distinct differences across racial and ethnic groups as well (See Figure 4). Whites
were much less likely to report that they would enroll anywhere within the next five years.
Likelihood to enroll was more similar among Blacks and Hispanics, with Blacks reporting
slightly higher likelihood. All racial and ethnic groups reported the highest likelihood toenroll in courses or training offered by employers, followed by community colleges.
FIGURE 4

SE L F - R E P O RT E D L IK E L IHO O D T O EN ROL L IN COURSES OR TRAIN IN G WITH IN
F I V E Y E AR S B Y R ACE AN D E T HNICITY

Percent
extremely
likely

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

White
n Four-year

n Community College

Blackn Trade School

Hispanicn Onlinen Employer

Previous Strada research has found that younger people are more likely than older people to consider enrolling in
education (Strada Education Network. Back to School? Accessed Dec. 4, 2019, https://www.stradaeducation.org/
report/back-to-school.). Some older adults report feeling that they are now too old to go back to school and thatcolleges aren’t well designed to serve older students.
89

There were also some notable differences in likelihood of re-enrolling by occupation.
Figure 5 shows the top 10 occupational categories in which the some college, no degree
population is employed, along with the percent who said they were extremely likely toenroll in either community college (the most popular of the four nonemployer types ofacademic providers) or with an employer within the next five years. Those working infood preparation occupations stand out as significantly more likely to enroll in community
college than those working in other categories. Health care workers were the most likely to
say they would enroll in additional education and training through their employer.
FIGURE 5

SE L F - R E P O RT E D L IK E L IHO O D T O EN ROL L IN COURSES OR TRAIN IN G WITH IN
F I V E Y E AR S B Y CUR R E N T O CCU PATION
Food Preparation
Manufacturing
Installation, Maintenance and Repair
Health Care
Construction
Transportation
Office and Admin
SalesManagerBusiness and Finance
0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Percent extremely likely
n Employer

10n Community College

30%

WHAT COULD HELP THEM RE-ENROLL?
When asked about a variety of factors that may impact their likelihood to enroll, adults withsome college, no degree said the factors that would have the biggest impact on them were
free community college tuition, courses and training that fit their schedule and a guaranteed
employment outcome, such as a job placement or wage increase (See Figure 7). These threefactors are also the top three among all adults without degrees8 but in a slightly different
order. The categories, however, are consistent: adults without degrees need career outcomes,
affordability and schedule flexibility to enroll.
FIGURE 7

FA C T OR S IM PACT IN G S E L F - R E P ORTED L IK EL IH OOD TO EN ROL L IN COURSES OR
T R A I N IN G
How would each of the following impact your likelihood of enrolling in additional education?
Please use a five-point scale where 5 means it would impact your likelihood a great deal
and 1 means not at all.
Free community
college tuition

52%

Courses and training thatfits your schedule

47%

14%

Guaranteed employment outcome(a job placement or wage increase)

47%

12%

Low-cost tuition

43%

11%

10%

Courses and training that
employers need

35%

16%

Locally accessible education andlearning center

32%

16%

Quality online and distancelearning opportunities

28%

Resources and support for childand dependent care

22%
0%

16%
6%

20%

40%

60%

n 5 “A great deal

80%

100%

n 4

Focusing on the top three categories and breaking them apart by occupation
reveals interesting nuance in terms of which policies have the biggest impact onwhich groups, as seen in Figure 8. For example, free community college tuition
has the biggest reported impact on enrollment for those working in office andadministrative, food preparation and transportation occupations; while for thoseworking in health care or manufacturing, guaranteed employment outcomes
would be much more impactful. Those working in sales, management or construction place the most emphasis on schedule flexibility.

Strada Education Network. Back to School? Accessed Dec. 4, 2019,https://www.stradaeducation.org/report/back-to-school.
9

11

FIGURE 8

FA C T O R S IM PACT IN G S E L F - R E PORTED L IK EL IH OOD TO EN ROL L
BY C U R R E N T O CCUPAT IO N
Office and Admin
Food Preparation
Transportation
Health Care
Business and Finance
Sales
Manager
Manufacturing
Installation, Maintenance and Repair
Construction
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percent Great Deal of Impactn Free community college tuitionn Course and training that fits your schedulen Guaranteed employment outcome

When looking at the impact on likelihood to enroll across racial and ethnic groups,
compared to whites, people of color report a higher impact for all factors (Figure 9). Thisis consistent with earlier findings that whites report being less likely to enroll in additional
education or training. All groups said that free community college tuition would have thegreatest impact on their likelihood to enroll.
FIGURE 9

FA C T O R S IM PACT IN G S E L F - R E PORTED L IK EL IH OOD TO EN ROL L
BY R ACE AN D E T HN ICIT Y

Hispanic

Black

White
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percent Great Deal of Impactn Free community college tuitionn Guaranteed employment outcome

12n Course and training that fits your scheduleCONCLUSION
By speaking directly with individuals who have some college but no degree, we obtain
new insights to guide policy makers and education providers in developing more effective
solutions to serve these adults. Based on their personal experiences:• Difficulty balancing school and work is a key reason people stop out of college.
Educational providers need to acknowledge that a high percentage of their students
will be working and going to school – and provide the flexibility to make it possible
for these students to do both.
• Better experiences with higher-quality academic and career advising are linked
with completion. Students need to see how their education connects to a purpose.
Implementing a proactive advising model is one approach that could be taken tobetter support learners.
• Employers are identified as the most likely pathway for individuals across all
demographic breakdowns of those with some college, no degree to enroll in
additional courses or training. Strategies to meet educational attainment goals will
be more effective as they integrate employers.
• When considering whether to re-enroll, adults with some college, no degree havethree key needs:– Education must be affordable.
– They must be able to fit education into the rest of their lives, including work andfamily.
– They want to see a clear career benefit to invest the time and money in further
education.

To bring back the some college, no degree population, state policymakers and institutions ofhigher education must be more responsive to these individuals’ needs and circumstances.

13

APPENDIXTABLE 1

What is the main reason you took college courses but did notcomplete a degree?
Work-related

17%

Financial pressure

12%

Other life event or personal problem

11%

Just wanted to learn more or didn’t need a degree7%Pregnant or had children

7%Classes, degree or school was not a good fit

4%

Got bored, lost interest or became distracted

4%

Family obligations

4%

Personal health reasons

3%Didn’t have enough time for classes

3%

Couldn’t decide on a career or field of study2%

Was not mature enough1%

Family pressure

1%

Classes were too difficult1%

Deployed

1%

TABLE 2

What is the main reason you are not currently taking college
courses?

14

Don’t need it or not interested

19%

Work-related

17%

Too expensive

12%

No time for classes

11%

Family obligations

7%

Age

6%

Personal health problems

5%

Retired

4%

Life

1%

Inconvenient location

1%

ABOUT THE STRADA-GALLUP EDUCATION CONSUMER SURVEY
Results for the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey are based on telephone surveys
conducted from June 2016 through April 2019 with a random sample of more than 340,000
respondents aged 18 to 65, living in all fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The
sample includes national adults with a minimum quota of 70 percent cellphone respondents
and 30 percent landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone withina region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial
methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household based on which
member will have the next birthday.
Interviews are conducted in English and Spanish. Samples are weighted to correct forunequal selection probability and nonresponse. The data are weighted to match national
demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education and region. Demographic
weighting targets are based on the most recent current population survey figures for the
population aged 18 to 65.
All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.
At the 95 percent confidence level, the percentage point margin of error for sample sizeof 42,000 is +/− 0.6 percent, for 3,000 it is +/− 2.1 percent. In addition to sampling error,
question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias
into the findings of public opinion polls.
Strada Education Network is a national social impact organization dedicated to improving
lives by forging clearer and more purposeful pathways between education and employment.
We engage partners across education, nonprofits, business and government to focus
relentlessly on students’ success throughout all phases of their working lives.
Learn more about how Strada Education Network is listening to education consumers
and compiling the nation’s largest dataset of consumer insights on education experiences
after high school, as well as collecting insights from employers, alumni and current college
students. Visit stradaeducation.org/consumer-insights.

15

EDUCATION NETWORKCOPYRIGHT STANDARDSThis document contains proprietary research, copyrighted materials and literary property of Gallup, Inc. and Strada Education Network. This document isof great value to Gallup, Inc. and Strada Education Network. Accordingly, international and domestic laws and penalties guaranteeing patent, copyright,
trademark and trade secret protection safeguard the ideas, concepts and recommendations related within this document. No changes may be made tothis document without the express written permission of the parties. Gallup® is a trademark of Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks andcopyrights are property of their respective owners.