Acting on data about both part-time and full-time students is essential to moving the needle on college completion. It also is an equity issue. Part-time student attainment rates severely lag behind those of their full-time counterparts, regardless of sector or timeframe. And part-time students are disproportionately BILPOC (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color) students, community college students, and students ages 25 and older.
Until recently, higher education measured outcomes primarily for full-time, first-time students, otherwise known as “traditional students.” This report from Complete College America shows the importance of helping more part-time students earn credentials. It also provides an overview of steps colleges can take to implement strategies in ways that better support part-time students.