As states and postsecondary institutions work to achieve critical degree attainment and workforce development goals, establishing policies and practices to effectively support adult learners who have some college but no degree is crucial. Through the statewide “Some College, No Degree” initiative, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) is working to increase adult learner re-enrollment and degree completion in the state. Beginning fall 2024, the New Jersey OSHE and Ithaka S+R are working together to reflect on the statewide initiative, including better understanding the scope of administrative holds and past due balances as barriers to adult learners re-enrolling throughout the state. This engagement is particularly timely as institutions grapple with enrollment declines; engaging and enrolling individuals with some college but no degree benefits students, institutions, and the state economy.

With the recent federal regulation limiting the practice of withholding academic transcripts because of unpaid institutional balances, institutions now have an opportunity to revisit existing policies and better serve adult learners who have stopped out because of administrative holds on their accounts. Ithaka S+R estimated in 2020 that over 139,000 students owing a collective balance of nearly $400,000,000, or $2,842 on average per student, fall into such a category in New Jersey. These students can now access their transcripts; however, engaging, enrolling, and supporting those students will require thoughtful revision of policy and practice. The New Jersey OSHE and Ithaka S+R are committed to gathering data on this important population of students to provide reflection and guidance for institutions and the state going forward.

In the upcoming year, Ithaka S+R will work with the New Jersey OSHE to accomplish the following objectives:

  1. Compile, review, and assess current initiatives across institutions of higher education in New Jersey supporting adult learners with some college but no degree.
  2. Better understand the scope of administrative holds and past due balances in NJ through identifying and analyzing available data.
  3. Propose ways to improve and build on existing student-focused incentive funding interventions and recommend implementation opportunities to address past due balances.
  4. Build a community of connected and engaged stakeholders invested in removing barriers to re-enrollment through facilitating a community of practice and hosting a convening.

The collaboration will draw on Ithaka S+R’s technical expertise in collecting and analyzing administrative data and interview data from stakeholders throughout public and independent not-for-profit institutions of higher education in New Jersey. The project also builds on the success of the Ohio College Comeback Compact Initiative and collaborations with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of North Carolina System. This and other related adult learner re-engagement projects are made possible by the generous funding from Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

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.