After several deaths in her family and an eviction that left her homeless, Jevona Anderson’s life began to unravel, and by 2025 the University of Baltimore student was failing classes and falling behind on bills. She eventually dropped out, joining a growing group of people who leave college before finishing and often return only if the barriers that helped derail them are addressed. In Anderson’s case, a scholarship made the difference when she was ready to go back.
Stopouts are often described as adults who leave school before earning a degree, despite having already invested time and money. The AP report said the group includes about 38 million working-age adults in the U.S., many of whom carry student loan debt but do not yet have a credential that can boost earnings. It also noted that while many people leave intending to return, few ultimately do—though that dynamic is shifting as colleges and states expand reenrollment efforts.
The report said colleges and local governments have gotten better at helping stopouts return, and that the number of reenrollments rose to more than 1 million in the 2023-2024 school year—an increase of 7% from the year before, based on enrollment data. It also cited data trends from the National Student Clearinghouse showing that the stopout population keeps growing overall even as annual stopouts decline and reenrollment increases.
Anderson began at the University of Baltimore in 2019, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental sustainability, and she described how her career goal solidified during substitute teaching in city schools. She said she aimed to become a teacher and share her environmental interests with children. But managing coursework alongside life responsibilities became difficult, and AP reported that fellowships gave her experience while paying little; she said grief after losing relatives compounded the financial strain, and the eviction made it hard to focus. She said her grades shifted from A’s and B’s to having to repeat a class, and that after talking with her student support coordinator, she decided to pause her studies.
When Anderson’s life stabilized late last year and she was ready to reenroll, advisers told her about a university scholarship program for people close to finishing their degrees, largely funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. AP reported that the scholarship helped cover her remaining credits and housing costs, and Anderson returned to the University of Baltimore. She is now on track to graduate after this semester, according to the report.
AP also described the practical obstacles that can knock students off track even when they have invested thousands of dollars. The report said college can be time-consuming, expensive and complicated, and that a small unpaid fee, a confusing form, or the challenge of balancing caregiving, work, health issues and transportation can be enough to derail students. It quoted Nina Diggs-Pindell, another University of Baltimore student who stopped out multiple times because of parenting and work responsibilities, saying, “Life is always changing. Everybody is going through something,” adding that a stopout can be about more than school in isolation.
In addition to scholarships, states and colleges have worked on systems to identify stopouts and remove bureaucratic holds. The AP report said several states have partnered with ReUp, which facilitates reenrollment through coaching and data tools and matches students with college programs based on academic history, life circumstances and employment goals. It said ReUp found the process can take an average of 24 touchpoints—texts, emails and meetings—before a stopout reenrolls, and that Jennifer Latino of the education research firm EAB said many colleges consider it a worthwhile investment compared with recruiting students “from scratch.”
The report included examples of how colleges operationalize support once a student returns. It said Pueblo Community College in Colorado launched a stopout scholarship about a decade ago with staff providing social-media ads and personalized outreach, and it quoted Richie Ince, the college’s director of enrollment management, describing how students said they needed “a kick in the pants” and “someone to reach out.” AP also said participants do not receive scholarship money until they pass their first semester back with C’s or better, and that staff help students complete financial aid applications and check in regularly to keep them on track. Another student featured, Melody Blair, 55, said she pursued an associate’s in health information management after decades working nights at a call center, describing how the degree gave her an outlook she said she could “wake up and look forward to doing.”
Anderson’s path to finishing has continued alongside the practical realities of returning to campus. AP reported that even as she nears graduation, she said it felt bittersweet when she realized she would not be able to afford regalia, until the school’s student center offered to lend her a cap and gown. She said her focus is returning to work with children again, adding, “Me and God made a pact — I am graduating this spring.”