Scaling College Student Success

U.S. college enrollment¹ - 19.28 million undergraduate college students in 2024

Enrollment status

• 62% Full Time
• 38% Part Time

Institution type

• 30% 2-Year
• 70% 4-Year

First-generation students

First-generation students account for nearly one-third² of college undergraduates. These are undergraduates from households where neither parent has attained a four-year degree.

43% - First-generation students who leave college without obtaining a degree³

Six factors that can help college students succeed

• Smaller class sizes⁴
• First-year experience courses or bridge programs emphasizing college preparedness and life skills development
• Scholarships and financial aid
• Peer mentorships⁵
• Campus activities that increase student engagement and "cultural capital"⁵
• Use of library resources⁶

PrepSTEP resources that can help students achieve their post-secondary goals

• College success skills tutorials on developing organizational strategies, building information literacy skills, communicating with professors, managing money and more
• Scholarship finder tool that allows students to search among 24,000 scholarships and other awards
• Practice sets and tutorials for improving core skills in math, science, reading, writing and grammar
• Career exploration tools and occupational license test preparation for careers in allied health, nursing, teaching, law enforcement, the military and the trade professions

PrepSTEP is an LTI-compliant e-learning platform that is compatible with Canvas, Blackboard Brightspace and Schoology. Librarians and instructors can embed PrepSTEP tutorials, quizzes, e-books and other content directly within course modules.

References

1. Hanson, M. (2025, March 17). College enrollment & student demographic statistics. Education Data Initiative. Retrieved from https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
2. Whitley, S. E., Benson, G., & Wesaw, A. (2018). First-generation student success: A landscape analysis of programs and services at four-year institutions. Washington, DC: NASPA. Retrieved from https://firstgen.naspa.org/files/dmfile/NASPA-First-generation-Student-…
3. Petty, T. (2014). Motivating first-generation students to academic success and college completion. College Student Journal, 48(2), 257-264.
4. Millea, M., Wills, R., Elder, A., & Molina, D. (2018). What matters in college student success? Determinants of college retention and graduation rates. Education, 138(4), 309-322.
5. Sanacore, J., & Palumbo, A. (2015, May 22). Let's help first generation students succeed. Chronide of Higher Education, 61(36), 1-5.
6. Brown, K. & Malenfant, K. J. (2017). Academic library impact on student learning and success: Findings from assessment in action team projects. Association of College & Research Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/f…