North Carolina is expanding higher education engagement efforts to adult learners. The University of North Carolina System has dedicated substantial resources to improve infrastructure and program delivery to enroll adult learners and re-engage those who have previously stopped out in their educational journeys. To support this ongoing work of reaching degree attainment and workforce development goals, Ithaka S+R is collaborating with the University of North Carolina (UNC) system office to analyze the scope of administrative holds for unpaid balances, which impede stopped out students from restarting and completing their postsecondary education. This technical assistance project in North Carolina is made possible through the generous financial support of Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

Ithaka S+R’s prior research indicated that 190,000 individuals in North Carolina were unable to access their transcripts or re-enroll because of administrative holds related to unpaid balances. The scope of the problem is large, but the opportunities to re-engage these students and help them complete their degrees is also substantial. As of July 1, 2024, colleges and universities were required to implement the US Department of Education’s policy limiting transcript withholding, forcing institutions to re-evaluate existing administrative hold and past due policies and practices. Although this new regulation is an excellent step toward resolving the issues, much work remains to help stopped out learners continue their education.

Throughout the remainder of 2024 and into 2025, Ithaka S+R is working with the UNC system office to accomplish three goals:

  1. Assess the scope of unpaid balances and administrative hold policies in North Carolina and the profile of stopped out students who are affected by them.
  2. Analyze institutional holds and debt collection policies and practices.
  3. Share findings and implementation recommendations with UNC system leadership.

Through our collection and analysis of administrative and stakeholder interview data, we will gain a better understanding of how administrative holds and past due balances are addressed at the institutional level. We will also gain greater insight into the academic and demographic profile of stopped out students in North Carolina. These findings will better equip the UNC system to develop sustainable policies and practices that minimize barriers to re-enrollment and re-engage a critically underserved student population.

This project expands Ithaka S+R’s portfolio of work in adult learner re-enrollment, including the Ohio College Comeback Compact and a technical assistance project with the Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education (KY CPE). The Ohio College Comeback Compact is currently in its third year, helping hundreds of students with institutional debt return to college. In partnership with KY CPE, we completed a mixed-methods research study with eight universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and will be sharing findings with stakeholders at KY CPE’s Removing Barriers For Adult Learner Reengagement Convening.

If you would like to work with Ithaka S+R to support students and higher education institutions by removing barriers to re-enrollment, please contact Liz Looker, senior program manager, at elizabeth.looker@ithaka.org.