Experimental Evidence of the Impact of Re-Enrollment Campaigns on Long-Term Academic Outcomes
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| Title: | Experimental Evidence of the Impact of Re-Enrollment Campaigns on Long-Term Academic Outcomes |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Justin C. Ortagus, Hope Allchin, Benjamin Skinner, Melvin Tanner, Isaac McFarlin |
| Source: | Education Finance and Policy. 2025 20(3):494-515. |
| Availability: | MIT Press. 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: 617-253-2889; Fax: 617-253-1709; e-mail: journals-rights@mit.edu; Web site: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/edfp |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | Community College Students, College Enrollment, Dropouts, Academic Persistence, Graduation, Dropout Programs, Program Effectiveness, Reentry Students, Intervention, Community Colleges |
| DOI: | 10.1162/edfp_a_00434 |
| ISSN: | 1557-3060 1557-3079 |
| Abstract: | Most students who begin at a community college do not complete their desired credential. Many students fail to graduate due to various barriers other than their academic performance. To encourage previously successful non-completers to re-enroll and eventually graduate, a growing number of community colleges have implemented re-enrollment campaigns focused on former students who have already made substantial progress toward graduation. In this study, we randomly assigned over 27,000 former community college students to a control group, "information-only" treatment group, or "information and one-course waiver" treatment group to examine whether re-enrollment campaigns can improve their likelihood of long-term persistence and credential completion. Although we showed in earlier work that the "information and one-course waiver" treatment had a positive impact on former students' likelihood of re-enrollment, our findings reveal the re-enrollment intervention has no effect on students' likelihood of long-term persistence or credential completion for the pooled sample or any subgroup of interest, including low-income students, racially minoritized students, or adult students. Simply put, this particular re-enrollment intervention including one-time, one-course tuition waivers increased former students' likelihood of re-enrollment but was not an effective lever to increase "long-term" academic outcomes among previously successful community college students who departed without earning a credential. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1481117 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Most students who begin at a community college do not complete their desired credential. Many students fail to graduate due to various barriers other than their academic performance. To encourage previously successful non-completers to re-enroll and eventually graduate, a growing number of community colleges have implemented re-enrollment campaigns focused on former students who have already made substantial progress toward graduation. In this study, we randomly assigned over 27,000 former community college students to a control group, "information-only" treatment group, or "information and one-course waiver" treatment group to examine whether re-enrollment campaigns can improve their likelihood of long-term persistence and credential completion. Although we showed in earlier work that the "information and one-course waiver" treatment had a positive impact on former students' likelihood of re-enrollment, our findings reveal the re-enrollment intervention has no effect on students' likelihood of long-term persistence or credential completion for the pooled sample or any subgroup of interest, including low-income students, racially minoritized students, or adult students. Simply put, this particular re-enrollment intervention including one-time, one-course tuition waivers increased former students' likelihood of re-enrollment but was not an effective lever to increase "long-term" academic outcomes among previously successful community college students who departed without earning a credential. |
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| ISSN: | 1557-3060 1557-3079 |
| DOI: | 10.1162/edfp_a_00434 |
