A Florida College Implements ‘Interventions’ to Keep Students of Color from Dropping out

Florida Atlantic University has made an effort to decrease the number of students dropping out due to financial issues, found the Hechinger Report. The students who have dropped out from the school between freshman and sophomore year has decreased from 25 percent to 18 percent found the report. The administration has implemented resources to intervene in situations when a student is at risk of discontinuing their education.

According to the Hechinger Report, half of the FAU Black and Hispanic student population comes from low income families. The administration had taken a look into how to resolve this issue by realizing the the faults of the institution.

From Hechinger Report:

Problems with low success rates are widespread in American higher education. At public universities in general, only about 40 percent of students graduate within four years, the most recent federal figures show; at all universities and colleges, just 45 percent.

More than a quarter of students dropped out between their first and second years in college in 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center — the highest level in nearly a decade. {snip}

{snip}

FAU created a series of “interventions” to help students stay on track, according to Hechinger Report. The school created more financial aid opportunities by creating scholarships, doubled the number of on-campus student jobs, and began a conference for academic success which saved 79 students from dropping out.

{snip}

From Hechinger Report:

Administrators found lots of red tape that was causing more trouble than it was worth. There were endless “administrative holds” that blocked progress — for example, stopping students from registering for courses if they fell behind by even a negligible amount on their payments to the university. {snip}

{snip}