Program connects students with resources to finish degree
ALBANY – To keep students in school, an email or phone call is remarkably effective, New York’s public colleges are finding.
The State University of New York’s Re-enroll to Complete campaign has successfully lured back thousands of college dropouts, with about 1-in-5 targeted students returning to school since the program launched last year, according to data released by SUNY this week.
The program sends emails to out-of-school federal loan borrowers during the six-month grace period before their first payments are due – a population at-risk of never completing a degree, according to Patti Thompson, SUNY assistant vice chancellor for student financial aid services.
“We are reaching out to students as soon as we are aware that they are withdrawn,” Thompson said. “One of the things I found fascinating is that when students leave school, the next notification is from the federal government. That feeds into this and students go down a slippery slope.”