Student attrition is a major issue for American colleges and universities. Studies show that more than one-third of undergraduates who enroll in college leave before completing their degree programs. Attrition among first-year students alone cost taxpayers more than $9 billion between 2003 and 2008, representing about 20 percent of education spending in this country.
These aren’t abstract statistics—they have tangible effects on nearly every institution. The average university, for instance, spends around $8,800 on each student who leaves college after one year, and that number can balloon to an average of $40,000 when the student withdraws after three or more years. And that’s not even counting the loss of a lifetime of donations that college graduates provide to their schools. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that there is a strong correlation between high attrition rates and poor financial health.
The user-experience problem…Read More