Access our on-demand webinar: Helping Californians Return to College to Finish Their Degrees

Hear how two statewide initiatives are helping stopped-out learners re-enroll and complete

It’s a staggering statistic. In the United States, 40 million students (1 in 5 adults) started a bachelor’s degree and never finished it. Of that total, 6.4 million of those students — nearly one-sixth — live in California. Bringing these learners back to finish what they started — and reap the socioeconomic benefits of a four-year degree — was the topic of our recent webinar, Helping Californians Return to College to Finish Their Degrees. 

Two innovative and statewide California initiatives are working to change these statistics. Over the course of this insight-packed webinar, Dr. Marie Martin, associate dean of academic affairs at UC Riverside University Extension, and Kai Drekmeier, co-founder and chief development officer at nonprofit InsideTrack, shared the approaches, early wins, lessons and insights from the UCR Degree Completion Program and California Reconnect — both of which are helping to re-enroll stopped-out students across the state. “The ultimate goal,” notes Drekmeier, “is to really unlock the value that our adult population with some college and no degree represents for California.” Unlocking that value pays dividends for the learner, their families and their communities, creating a statewide ripple effect.

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Keeping the conversation going

As Dr. Martin explains, “In a world of limited resources, which we’re all familiar with in higher ed, we have to think creatively about how we can bring these students back efficiently.” Throughout this impactful 60 minutes, leaders from these two statewide re-enrollment issues share their firsthand insights on who these students are, what types of support they need to return to school, and key pieces of early data. Tune in to find:

• Key demographics of returning students
• Student re-entry needs and wants
• CA Reconnect re-enrollment impact data by campus
• Findings and recommendations from these two statewide initiatives
• Emerging policy considerations for entities working to re-engage adult learners

Every day, these initiatives are helping stopped-out students across California re-enroll and continue their educational path to completion. Hear from the learners themselves:

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“Yay, I’m so excited and relieved. Thank you for being such a great coach. Your work never goes unnoticed! Thank you for making school less scary/nerve-racking for me. It means a lot.”
— Student re-enrolled through California Reconnect

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“Thank you so, so much! I wouldn’t be back on campus if it wasn’t for you. It feels like I have a future again now. I greatly appreciate all your time.”
— Student re-enrolled through the UC Reengagement Consortium 

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What happens when higher ed goes big? Get the full story

It was an action-packed hour of insights, conversation and thought-provoking questions about ways to re-enroll students to return and complete their education. If you missed it, don’t worry! The complete recording is now available, and you can view an on-demand version below.

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