Among the 18 countries the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tracked, the United States has the lowest college completion rate in the developed world. In fact, around 60% of Bachelor’s degree students in the United States complete this four-year degree in six years, and many never complete their degree at all.

Student debt and the rising cost of tuition are both problems that have garnered a lot of public attention, but the underlying cause fueling these problems is the inefficiency of how college education is structured in the United States, and how it does not support non-traditional students. While college dropout rates, and rates of taking more years to complete a degree are high amongst traditional students, they are even higher amongst older and non-traditional students. These students must balance work, school, families, and other obligations in academic settings that are built for students fully immersed in campus life. Students take out loans, and those who do not graduate are more likely to default on them. This stretches state resources thin while money is tied up in education and never paid back. At the same time, each extra semester means another semester of paying the rising cost of college tuition. Students of all ages feel the pressure to work through school and pick up extra shifts to offset the cost of student debt, and there are simply not enough hours in the day.

While graduation rates are low, lots of Americans have college coursework under their belts. Chances are, between your education and work experience, you actually have a functional Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree. If you are one of the millions of Americans who have completed college coursework but not your degree, talk to us. Visit us at thecareerpeople.com for a consultation.

 

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