The Freshman Four Hundred Million

by Collin Hitt You’ve heard of losing the Freshman Fifteen. But can Illinois colleges trim fat, too, by lowering their freshman dropout rates? The American Institutes of Research has published a new report estimating the Illinois taxpayers spent almost $400 million on college costs for students who never made it to sophomore year ($300 of that was...

by Collin Hitt

You’ve heard of losing the Freshman Fifteen. But can Illinois colleges trim fat, too, by lowering their freshman dropout rates?

The American Institutes of Research has published a new report estimating the Illinois taxpayers spent almost $400 million on college costs for students who never made it to sophomore year ($300 of that was in direct state appropriations to or tuition assistance at public universities). Over the five year period examined by researchers, freshman dropouts at American universities cost taxpayers $9 billion.

It’s intriguing to see the cost of freshman attrition quantified.  The Illinois Policy Institute along with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni published a report one year ago taking the state to task for its high freshman attrition rates and stagnant graduation rates – not to mention rising college costs.  Read that whole report here.