US: High cost of community college dropouts

A new national study reports that federal, state, and local governments in the US invested nearly $4 billion in full-time community college students who subsequently dropped out after their first year, writes Rita Giordano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Data released by the American Institute for Research of Washington reveals that nearly $1 billion in government funds was spent on first-time students who dropped out in 2008-09, the most recent year surveyed, a 35% increase from five years before.

The Hidden Costs of Community Colleges comes when colleges are seeing swelling enrolment and increasing demands on their services. Their student bodies now include displaced workers, remedial students, non-English speakers and students seeking more affordable higher education. Also, community colleges feature prominently in the Obama administration's pledge to substantially increase the number of the nation's college graduates by 2020.
Full report on the Seattle Times site