Freshman Transition/Student Success Course
Career & Education Plans: Critical to College Completion
Our country has long promoted the economic benefits of a college degree and touted college as a necessity for all students. Unfortunately, until recently not nearly enough attention has been focused on whether or not students actually finished college. As it turns out, we have failed to sufficiently prepare students for college, overlooking the skills, resources, and support necessary to ensure successful completion. Students have come to perceive getting into college as the ultimate goal but have no plan for how to succeed there, often not truly understanding why they are even in college. And, with an overemphasis on the four-year degree as the ideal option, we set many students up for failure when a two-year or technical program would serve them better.
As a result, college completion rates are too low for our country to remain competitive in a global economy.
According to a 2011 report released by the Pathways to Prosperity Project at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education, only 56% of college students pursuing four-year degrees finish within six years, and only 29% of those
who start two-year degrees complete them within three years.
That’s where a Freshman Transition/Student Success course comes in. A course in which students develop 10-year career and education plans to carry them through college and into the workforce is a course that gets students focused on the big picture. Students completing a Freshman Transition/Student Success course will be more likely to complete their education in a field that will give them the greatest opportunity for lasting satisfaction.
Proven, scalable, and cost-efficient, a rigorous Freshman Transition/Student Success course is the best way to maximize the amount and quality of guidance that students receive.