The Concerns Keeping Community College Leaders Up At Night

1 Mar 2023

Education and Research

Declining enrollment, high dropout rates, and decreased state funding are creating a perfect storm of economic challenges that are alarming to community college leaders across the country. Since 2021 community college enrollment has fallen by more than 1 million students and 40% of all community college students drop out after their first year.

Many community college leaders are left scratching their heads trying to figure out why this is happening and how to stop and reverse these trends.

A recent study conducted by the on-line journal The Conversation surveyed over 27,000 community college students who failed to complete their degree, the most often mentioned reasons are:

Financial Challenges, especially the cost of textbooks.
Childcare issues. One out of every five college student is a parent. Among those that dropped out, a full 33% said it was because of problems with childcare and family obligations.
Unexpected financial hardships due to health care, food insecurity, or transportation were mentioned by almost 50% of the survey respondents.
Low grades leading to loss of financial aid were named by 43% of survey responders as the primary reason they left.

All of this is occurring amidst a workforce crisis that leaves has many employers hungrier for Community College graduates than any time in recent history. Community and Technical Colleges may be better positioned than any other institutions to meet near term employment demands, but the crucial first step is removing or addressing the student barriers.

How can fundraising efforts buck these trends? Recent Convergent-run campaigns at community colleges have raised millions of dollars for areas such as:

Student opportunity funds which provide sources of support (beyond scholarships and free tuition programs) to help students address any financial emergency such as textbooks, childcare, transportation etc.
Investments in student support services such as tutoring, mentoring, financial literacy, academic support and advising efforts, which provide those wrap-around services needed for many students to improve their grades and stay in school.
Early college, dual enrollment, career coaches and summer bridge programs as a means to connect high school students into community colleges.

Fundraising campaigns aren't always about 'bricks and mortar' and Convergent Nonprofit Solutions is pioneering campaigns that are laser focused on raising funds to address systemic issues in enrollment and retention. Oh, and also helping community college leaders sleep better at night.

Convergent's Investment Driven Model for fundraising helps to clarify and communicate the real economic value proposition community colleges or any other nonprofit provide to their local communities, and to the companies and other organizations that can help fund the outcomes (work-ready graduates, in this case) they deliver. And increased clarity on investable outcomes means increased funding to deliver them.

About The Author

Joe April

Senior Project Director

Department: Team

I was not a great student in high school, so when I went to college, I didn’t take school seriously and eventually flunked out. I found myself in the office of a transfer counselor at St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida—and she changed my life. She helped me get tutoring, scholarships, and academic support services and met with me every Friday to ensure I stayed on track. She held my hand, kicked my butt, and patted me on the back—but she made sure I stuck through school. I eventually transferred to the University of South Florida but my start and passion for community colleges began at St. Pete JC.

That counselor changed my life and opened the door to my future.

Today, I have the opportunity to work with community colleges across the country to raise funds so today’s students have the same financial and academic support and help that were there for me. I take great personal and professional pride in helping community colleges keep the door to a college degree open for anyone who wants it.

Joe has more than 30 years of experience in community college resource development programs as a staff member and consultant. His professional expertise includes major gift campaigns, planned giving, and strategic planning for foundation boards and advancement teams. As a consultant, Joe has led more than 55 feasibility studies, development assessments, foundation strategic plans, community summits, industry forums, and alumni strategic planning efforts. Since 2012, he served as a partner and executive vice president for two consulting companies where he was the lead consultant on over 30 projects, including 13 major gift campaigns, all of which exceeded their funding goals.

As a former Region I Director for the Council for Resource Development (CRD), he has chaired three of the organization’s national conferences. In addition to CRD, Joe is actively involved in the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), where he regularly speaks at their regional and national conferences.

Prior to becoming a full-time consultant, Joe served as the Chief Advancement Office at the following institutions: Holyoke Community College, MA; MassBay Community College; and the Community College of Rhode Island. This wealth of experience makes Joe an invaluable resource to our community college clients.

Summary of Experience

Personally solicited and closed over $40 million in major and planned gifts as a staff member of various college advancement teams.
Practical, hands-on experience leading numerous institutions from campaign into a diversified, comprehensive, and sustainable development program.
Possesses a strong record of creating mission-focused staff and volunteer teams, including recruiting a completely new Foundation Board and Alumni Council at MassBay Community College.
Led six comprehensive major gift / capital campaigns, which collectively secured over $55 million, exceeding goal in each.
Campaign consultant on over 30 major gift / capital campaigns which raised a total of over $265 million.
Worked in 25 states across the country, from Maine to Florida to California, and internationally.
Frequent conference speaker, including keynoting the 2015 AFP Iowa State-Wide Conference where he presented on generational giving trends.
AA from St. Petersburg Junior College and BA in Economics from the University of South Florida.