HCM + Edge Research Release Follow-Up Learner Research: Continuing to Explore the Exodus from Higher Education
“Continuing to Explore the Exodus from Higher Education” contains new insights into how today’s potential college students are looking for assurance that their time and money in higher education will lead to a better future.
Overview of 2023 Findings
Despite our understanding of the value of higher education, perceptions among these high school students and non-enrolled audiences make it clear that institutions need to prove their value to them. In particular, why does the value of a 2-year or 4-year degree outweigh the value of credentials and job training programs? Both High Schoolers and Non-Enrollees see and select other paths that are shorter, cheaper, and/or more directly linked to specific job opportunities.
As part of that effort, these audiences want and need supports throughout their college journeys to reach the destination of acquiring a degree. These audiences feel anxious about making the wrong choices when it comes to college, and that those choices will impact the rest of their lives. Finally, it is also important to understand that the information received by these audiences differs by cohort. High Schoolers are at the epicenter of the college information network. Non-Enrollees, on the other hand, are forced to seek information about colleges, and the information they find tends to be less positive compared to what High Schoolers receive and consume about higher education.
A follow-up to the 2022 research study, this updated study report covers:
How higher education must prove value to potential students, who are currently more attracted to immediate, lower-cost options;
How each phase of the college journey—pre-college, paying for college, attending college—contains “problem areas” that must be addressed;
How students want expert help along the way, in addition to financial assistance; and
How media matters—the tone of information about college impacts perspectives on future attendance.
The study, conducted by Edge Research in partnership with HCM Strategists, and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, summarizes insights from September – October 2023 through10 focus groups conducted in June 2023 and a n=4,848 national online survey of high school graduates, 18-30 years of age, who decided not to go to college or dropped out of a 2-year or 4-year college program (n=3,130) and High Schoolers (n=1,718).*
*The survey included nationwide bases samples of n=1000 each of Non-Enrollees and High Schoolers, as well as national oversamples of Black adults and adults who would be first-generation college graduates. The survey also included oversamples in the following states for both audiences (CA, FL, NY, OH, TN, TX, and WA) with additional Non-Enrollee oversamples in CO, IL, KY, LA, MI, and VA. To view the state-by-state comparison breakdown, please click here.
