The number of college students leaving school without their degrees is on the rise. 

The number of college students leaving school without their degrees is on the rise. The number of students dropping out before receiving any certificate or degree has risen from 36 million in 2019 to 39 million in 2022. Our Education report shows that the majority of Gen Z doesn’t believe they need a college degree to be successful. Instead, Gen Z is placing more value on work experience, proving how students’ life plans are being rewritten. If the college education system hopes to change this, more flexibility needs to be built into their systems, for example reducing internal hiccups like credit transfers and transcript holds will lighten the load on students and allow their academic journeys to flourish. Patricia Steele, president of the research company Higher Ed Insight, proposes, “we have to really think radically about how to make the process easier for students.” (IHE)