Higher Ed, Real Talk Dr. Herman Crawford’s Dean’s Desk

A student once came to me convinced they were done with college.

The surprising part?

They weren’t failing.

Their grades were solid. Attendance was decent. Nothing in the system suggested they were at risk.

But as we talked, a different story emerged.

They were balancing work, family responsibilities, transportation challenges, and financial pressure. School wasn’t the biggest problem in their life.

It was simply one more thing competing for attention.

That conversation reminded me of something we often overlook in higher education:

Students don’t always leave because they can’t do the work. Sometimes they leave because life gets in the way of doing the work.

We spend a lot of time discussing retention through the lens of grades, completion rates, and academic performance. Those metrics matter.

But they don’t tell the whole story.

Recent research continues to show that students who feel connected, supported, and like they belong are more likely to persist through challenges than those who feel isolated or invisible (Pedler, Willis, & Nieuwoudt, 2022).

In other words, student success isn’t just academic.

It’s relational.

As leaders, faculty, and staff, we may not be able to solve every problem our students face. We can’t eliminate work schedules, childcare responsibilities, or financial stress.

What we can do is create environments where students know someone notices, someone cares, and someone is willing to help them navigate the next step.

I’ve learned that students rarely leave because of a single obstacle.

They leave when obstacles begin stacking up faster than support.

The Takeaway

The student who almost quit wasn’t failing.

They were overwhelmed.

And there are probably more students like that than we realize.

Sometimes the most important intervention isn’t a policy, a program, or a technology platform.

Sometimes it’s a conversation.

Higher Ed, Real Talk publishes on the third Thursday of each month.

Reference

Pedler, M. L., Willis, R., & Nieuwoudt, J. E. (2022). A sense of belonging at university: Student retention, motivation and enjoyment. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(3), 397–408.

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