The document discusses doubling college enrollments in the US by 2020 through increasing post-traditional student completion rates. While 69% of institutions claim to track post-traditional student retention and completion, only 22% could provide current retention rates and 20% provide completion rates. Major obstacles to effective measurement include a lack of coordination, resource constraints, and cultural resistance to measurement. The document promotes continued work to raise awareness and share best practices to improve post-traditional student success.

1. The Big Goal
A doubling of
college enrollments
by 202040million
What initiatives do you have in place to address post-traditional
baccalaureate student attrition?
Neutral
2013
2012
Decreasing
Post-Traditional Student Success
Key to National Prosperity
Increasing
BY
Requiring
concurrently
2x enrolled
America will once again have the
students
highest proportion of college
graduates in the world1
2016
In order to reach this goal, we will need more post-traditional students to finish college
Meanwhile...
You can’t fix what you don’t measure
69% Of institutions claim to track post-traditional
student retention and completion rates
However only... 22% Were able to provide their
current retention rate
20% Were able to provide their
current completion rate
60%
Cite cultural resistance to
measurement
accountability
57%
Faculty advising
47%
41%
Extended new
student orientation
Non-academic
coaching/mentoring
Obstacles to Eective Measurement
Specialized advising/counseling for
certain populations
78%
Academic tutoring
Early alert/warning system
Increased number of
advisors/counselors
Lack of coordination among
educational institutions, accreditors,
regulators, industry associations,
and policy bodies
Resource and budget constraints
Attempts to account for every
program and student variation
Inertia at the institutional level
Cultural resistance to
measurement and accountability
Major obstacle
Minor obstacle
Not an obstacle
64% 29% 7%
53% 33% 14%
To learn what you can do
UPCEA and InsideTrack will continue to work with colleagues in the higher education community to raise awareness, foster
dialogue and share best practices in the area of post-traditional student success. Download our report
www.insidetrack.com/research/post-traditional.
InsideTrack works with college and universities to
improve student and institutional success. Their
one-on-one student coaching, process expertise,
analytics and technology have been proven to increase
graduation rates by an average of 15 percent and
enhance the student experience. For more information,
visit www.insidetrack.com
Located in Washington, D.C., UPCEA serves more than
380 institutions of higher education with a focus on
professional, continuing, and online learning. The
Association provides its members with educational
publications, programs, conferences, and services for
the advancement of lifelong learning. UPCEA promotes
awareness of the needs of adult learners and recognizes
best practices in the field. For more information,
visit www.upcea.edu
Citations:
1. Remarks of President Barack Obama -- Address to Joint Session of Congress | The White House. Remarks of President Barack Obama -- Address to Joint Session of
Congress | The White House. N.p., 24 Feb. 2009.
2. “Post-traditional” refers to students who are non-first-time, non-full-time, working adults, active/retired military service members, online learners or others not
generally meeting the definition of a traditional college student.
72%
36%
72%
Learning communities
72%
78%
93%
68%
67% 53%
74%
69%
39% 50% 11%
32% 41% 27%
20% 40% 40%