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Report: Over Half of Connecticut's Private Colleges Are "Dropout Factories"

About two-thirds of students at community colleges in Connecticut are not prepared for college-level work.
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About two-thirds of students at community colleges in Connecticut are not prepared for college-level work.

Seven of Connecticut's 13 private, non-profit colleges are graduating fewer than two-thirds of the student body. That's according to an analysis of federal data by Third Way, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.

But some private colleges are doing much better than others. At Trinity College, for example, nearly 85 percent of students end up graduating. But at the University of Bridgeport, seven out of ten students don't graduate.

"I'm not exactly sure exactly what's going on at all of these institutions, but some of them are just getting abysmal outcomes," said Tamra Hiler, a policy advisor at Third Way. "But some of them are actually doing a very good job at supporting low and moderate income students and helping them get to the finish line."

A big difference between schools like Trinity and ones like Bridgeport is the students they enroll. Nearly half of students who go to Bridgeport are low income and are getting federal Pell grant money. But at Trinity, barely one in 10 students fit that category.

This is the case among many of Connecticut's private colleges -- some take lots of low income students, some take very few. Those that take a few tend to be the elite universities, and they also tend to have higher graduation rates.

Hiler suggested that this has pushed lots of low income students into schools that don't have the resources to make sure these students can graduate.

"In a way, there is a case to be made that a lot of these elite institutions are perhaps perpetuating inequality in this country  by not doing more to take in more low and moderate income students," Hiler said.

However, federal data used for Third Way's analysis didn't account for transfer students. The group has been advocating the education department to collect more comprehensive data so better comparisons can be made. 

Hiler advises low income students to ask prospective schools what their graduation rates are for students who get Pell grants. 

An earlier version of this story did not include information about the federal data not including transfer students. 

David finds and tells stories about education and learning for WNPR radio and its website. He also teaches journalism and media literacy to high school students, and he starts the year with the lesson: “Conflicts of interest: Real or perceived? Both matter.” He thinks he has a sense of humor, and he also finds writing in the third person awkward, but he does it anyway.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.