The recent Trellis Strategies survey of 3,182 individuals who left higher education without finishing sheds light on a persistent national issue. The group commonly labeled Some College, No Credential (SCNC) now includes an estimated 43.1 million Americans, with 37.6 million in the working-age population. These learners often carry outstanding student loan balances or other financial obligations even though they never completed a degree, creating a unique set of economic and policy challenges.
Understanding why students stop out matters because those choices ripple into workforce planning and state attainment goals. At least 43 states base part of their postsecondary targets on re-engaging this pool of learners. The survey contrasts common assumptions—academic failure is not the primary driver—and instead points to a set of practical barriers that institutions and policymakers can address.
Table of Contents:
What the survey found
The respondents reported multiple reasons for leaving, with financial concerns at the top. When asked to identify a primary cause, 35% pointed to personal finances, while 32% listed family or personal responsibilities. Employment pressures were a factor for 27%, and respondents also named cost of tuition or attendance (25%), health reasons (24%), and academic issues (19%). The data came from 58 institutions—25 four-year and 33 two-year schools—across 13 states, offering a cross-section of students who stopped out in varied settings.
Who these learners are
The SCNC population in this survey looks less like the traditional full-time student and more like the modern, juggling adult learner. About 72% worked while enrolled, and nearly half reported working 40+ hours per week. A substantial share were the first in their families to attend college (36%), and 25% were raising children while enrolled. These realities help explain why scheduling, work conflicts, and childcare often trump classroom difficulty as reasons to stop out.
Differences by sector
Patterns vary between community colleges and four-year campuses. Stop-outs from four-year institutions were more likely to single out the cost of attendance (35%) than those who left two-year schools (20%). Conversely, students at two-year institutions pointed to work conflicts more frequently (29% vs. 22% at four-year schools). These sector differences highlight how a one-size-fits-all approach to retention and re-enrollment may miss the mark.
Beliefs, contact, and plans to return
Despite leaving, many former students still value a degree: 73% said finishing would boost career earnings, 70% believed a degree would improve quality of life, and 64% described college as a good investment. Yet the administrative and support experience diverged—while 91% were satisfied with registration processes, areas like financial aid services and academic advising scored poorly. Crucially, most departures happen quietly: 71% never discussed their choice with faculty or staff, and that figure rose to 75% among two-year stop-outs. Institutions often lose students before an intervention can occur.
Returning to school
Plans to re-enroll are mixed: 28% intend to return to their original campus, 35% plan to enroll somewhere else, and 37% have no firm plans to come back. Four-year stop-outs are notably less likely to return to the same institution (19%) compared with community college stop-outs (32%). When asked what would help them return, respondents most commonly requested clearer financial aid information, transparent course and major pathways, and meaningful academic advising.
How this fits into the larger picture
Observers such as The College Investor have documented an affordability squeeze that contributes to students leaving campus. National Student Clearinghouse figures show that more than 1 million SCNC adults re-enrolled in the 2026-2026 academic period—an increase of about 7% year over year—but that gain was offset by roughly 2.1 million new stop-outs in the same window. In short, even as re-enrollment improves, the SCNC population continues to grow because new departures outpace returns.
The bottom line for colleges and policymakers is clear: the barriers that push students out—chiefly affordability, inflexible schedules, and limited advising—remain the same obstacles when those students consider coming back. Efforts to boost completion rates should prioritize tangible supports like transparent financial aid, flexible course delivery, and personalized advising rather than relying on recruitment messaging alone.
