Barriers to Student Success in College

A report by  Education Data indicates that college dropout rates run up to 32.9% of undergraduates who do not complete their degree program. The stats also show that first-time undergraduate sophomores have a 12-month dropout rate of 24.1%.

Barriers Are Real

Barriers to student success in college are real and often rooted in many factors, including poverty, trauma, systemic racism, and basic needs.

Developing an understanding of these factors can help campus leaders develop strategies and initiatives that improve student outcomes.

Here are some common barriers to student success: One is academic preparation, which is one of the most difficult barriers to overcome. Another is a lack of financial aid, mentorship, and self-esteem.

Academic Preparation Is A Formidable Barrier To Postsecondary Education

While high school grades and college admission test scores are the most common indicators of college success, academic preparation is a much stronger predictor of student success.

A rigorous curriculum in high school can improve a student’s chances of achieving a bachelor’s degree, and is a vital part of a student’s overall success. While this is not the case for every student, it is important to focus on providing a challenging curriculum that encourages high academic achievement.

Curricula must be structured such as to focus on the development of critical skills that will ensure student success in college. These skills are acquired through academic activities, cultural experiences, informal mentoring, and role modeling. Students also need to develop academic self-efficacy, which is a critical mind-set for academic success. Among first-generation students, academic self-efficacy is particularly low.

Students With Disabilities are Often Neglected

In addition to academic preparation, students with disabilities face transportation challenges. Inaccessible public transportation can keep students from attending classes. Likewise, student housing may not be accessible or provide adequate assistance. As a result, students with disabilities may be forced to make long commutes to school. This can lead to burnout.

Academic leaders are often focused on common student success metrics, which are lagging indicators. As a result, they may not be aware of the root causes of the gap between lower and higher-income students.

To help academic leaders understand these issues, EAB created the Barriers to Student Success Infographic, which includes 116 leading indicators. This infographic can help taskforces brainstorm solutions and determine what they can do to improve student success.

Why Are Teaching Methods Important?

Lack Of Self-Esteem

Students with low self-esteem may feel hopeless and isolated in their college experiences. In order to combat these feelings, they should start by recognizing their inherent value as human beings. Only one person can have the same personality, taste, and experience as another, so they should be proud of their uniqueness. Everyone is special and has value.

Low self-esteem can interfere with the academic performance of students. It can decrease their desire to learn, reduce their ability to focus, and prevent them from taking risks. However, good self-esteem is an important building block of academic success. It is essential to help students develop their sense of self-worth.

One study found that students with low self-esteem were less likely to be successful in their studies than students with high self-esteem. In addition, the study was conducted at the end of the academic year, when students had enough experience to measure their self-confidence.

Self-esteem can Be Directly Linked to Academic Performance

Self-esteem has been linked to academic performance, although research on the relationship between self-esteem and grit has not yet confirmed the connection. However, many studies have concluded that self-esteem does have a positive impact on motivation and performance in college. In other words, self-esteem can increase the odds of achieving academic goals and advancing in life.

The results of these studies have shown that self-esteem and academic self-efficacy are highly correlated to academic success. In fact, self-efficacy and academic performance have been shown to predict academic performance in a study by Taylor, Locke, and Lee. The study results also suggest that high self-esteem students perform better at difficult tasks, while low self-esteem students give up easily when confronted with difficult tasks.

Lack Of Financial Aid

A report released by the John Burton Advocates for Youth and the California Community Colleges reveals that the financial aid system is making it more difficult for students to get the education they need. The report found that nearly one-third of college students do not meet the SAP (student aid plan) requirements. Financial aid providers need to make their resources more available to students. The report also suggests that colleges should do more to help students who struggle financially.

Students from low-income families have traditionally struggled to fit into the college equation. Whether the cost is too high, or the cultural differences are too great, many have had trouble completing their education. In fact, half of Pell Grant recipients fail to reapply for financial aid.

Inequality in access to higher education also creates psychological barriers that affect students’ attendance and persistence. While the average amount of financial aid offered at American colleges and universities has increased over the past two decades, the number of low-income students is still far lower than it used to be.

The financial aid program should protect tax dollars and keep college affordable, but it should not be the only barrier to student success. Many state and federal grants are renewable, but students may lose their eligibility for financial aid if they do not maintain satisfactory academic performance, do not reapply for aid each year, or enroll in non-degree-granting courses.

Lack of financial aid is a major obstacle to the academic and social development of low-income students. The pressure to meet costs compounds the difficulties of the first year of college and persists throughout their educational careers. A recent report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy found that students from low-income families are less likely to complete a college degree.

Lack Of Mentoring

Providing a mentor for a college student has many benefits. It can help them navigate the college landscape and launch their career. More than half of students who identify a mentor say that it is a professor, or another student. However, professors are often overburdened with students and have little time to devote to mentoring.

The results of several surveys indicate that lack of mentoring may be a barrier to college student success. The lack of a mentor is a common challenge for women, as they often find themselves navigating their careers while balancing work and family life. The survey also reveals that women are less likely than men to find a mentor who has the same interests as them.

One possible solution to the lack of mentors is peer mentoring. Peer mentors provide a network of supportive, knowledgeable peers who can help students identify effective strategies. New students are often unaware of the specific strategies that will make the difference between failure and success. Moreover, they may struggle to calculate costs and benefits – a skill which their mentors often have.

While there is a growing body of research on the effectiveness of mentoring, the research is often limited by definitional deficiencies. This article provides a critical review of the literature on mentoring and highlights the important role of this service in college students’ success. It also discusses issues related to the development of standard operational definitions for mentoring in higher education and explores future directions for mentoring research.

In addition to personal mentoring, students can also find mentors through part-time jobs and internships. Some professional associations sponsor mentoring programs and match students with mentors in their field. For example, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) sponsors a mentorship program for new career counselors.

Lack Of Academic Rigor

One of the reasons why a college course can fail to meet students’ expectations is its lack of academic rigor. Academic rigor is the level of difficulty of a course, which is linked to a student’s ability to apply higher-order thinking and learn meaningful content.

Academic rigor also fosters the student’s sense of ownership over their learning. In general, students desire challenging learning, as long as it is balanced with appropriate support. It’s important to note that lack of rigor doesn’t mean a course is too difficult, and that a student who is struggling is not looking for an easy way out.

Students often feel more comfortable in a caring environment with a dedicated instructor. This can contribute to a positive learning experience for many students.

The lack of engagement in the course material is another factor that reduces students’ commitment to achieving their academic goals. A Business Administration student, for example, explained that the professor’s lack of enthusiasm for his subject matter led him to question why he was attending college at all.

A student’s likelihood of failing a college course or withdrawing without a grade is negatively related to their chances of graduating. This is a common phenomenon that has been confirmed by a study from the Student Success Collaborative, which analyzed hundreds of institutions.

The results showed that students who failed or withdrew from courses had a significantly lower chance of graduating. Further, this problem is not limited to academic rigor – it can also be related to personal issues, such as mental health, transportation, or child care challenges, or a student’s disconnection from the college community.

Final Thoughts

Colleges and Universities should develop strategies to reduce barriers for students who struggle with certain courses. These entities should develop a standard campus policy that would allow students to take Barrier courses twice before requiring a third attempt.

The University may also introduce recitation sections and develop active learning programs to help inexperienced students practice studying.

College students must also be conscious of the various barriers they may be facing or most likely to face and take proactive measures to mitigate these barriers and increase their chances of success.