Two-thirds of the area鈥檚 college students work while they attend school, according to a report coming out next week on Texas' education landscape.
Many students who work while attending college are not full-time students. In fact, in Central Texas, 鈥�80 percent of our high school graduates who go into two-year colleges are enrolling part-time,鈥� says Christine Bailie with the E3 Alliance.
When a student is enrolled part-time, that usually means they have a higher risk of not receiving a degree. According to the E3 Alliance, only 16 percent of part-time students in the region receive a degree in six years. There are many reasons as to why, says Austin Buchan with local company College Forward.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not really a silver bullet that鈥檚 affecting our students. It鈥檚 really more of a death by a thousand cuts that鈥檚 happening,鈥� he says.
College Forward helps high school students not only get into college, but complete their post-secondary programs. Students who enroll part-time often have other responsibilities: work, family. Or they have trouble paying for college. Buchan says the conversation in recent years has changed from 鈥渉ow to get students to enroll in college鈥� to 鈥渉ow to get them to complete college and leave with a degree.鈥� He says that鈥檚 vital to Central Texas鈥� economic growth.
鈥淚t鈥檚 estimated that 60 percent are going to require a post-secondary degree by 2020. And we鈥檙e only about 30 percent of that number right now. So we have a long way to go," says Buchan. "We have to double the number of degrees our current high school students are completing by 2020, and that鈥檚 a daunting task.鈥�
Buchan and the E3 alliance will present its yearly Central Texas education profile next Wednesday.