Community college students stop out for a confluence of reasons, some that could be better prevented by colleges, according to a new report from the Community College Research Center.

The report’s findings stem from surveys of 480 former students who attended one of four community colleges in fall 2023 but left before the start of their second year. CCRC asked them about their educational goals and expectations when they started, their college experiences, and the factors that contributed to their decisions to leave college.

Most of the students who ultimately stopped out, 87 percent, came to college hoping to gain some kind of credential. More than two-thirds wanted to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree or higher. They also came to college with high hopes for academic success. More than three-quarters expected their average letter grade to be between an A and a B, and 84 percent expected to finish all the classes in which they’d enrolled.

But their experiences in college were mixed, the report found. Slightly fewer than a quarter reported feeling a definitive sense of community, and only one-third said they developed at least one strong friendship. They reported better relationships with faculty members than peers. Most respondents agreed, strongly or somewhat, that faculty cared about their well-being, valued their voice in the classroom and would notice their absence.

Their academic confidence also varied. Nearly 44 percent said they were interested in most of their classes, but only 31 percent reported they felt sure they performed well academically. Only 29 percent felt very confident in their classes, compared to 57 percent who felt slightly or somewhat confident.

When offered 18 reasons for why they left college, former students, on average, chose 3.7 reasons, according to the report. The top reasons were enduring financial hardship, feeling academically unsuccessful, experiencing stress related to college and changing career goals. Most students had a mix of overlapping reasons such as external circumstances, institutional barriers and a lack of support. While some of these factors may be outside of colleges’ control, 57 percent of former students selected reasons related to stress, lack of confidence or beliefs about the value of college, and 46 percent selected reasons related to institutional barriers.

“Most students’ decision to leave is multifaceted—so there might be opportunities for colleges to intervene to influence students’ trajectories prior to their departure,” the report says, including helping students plan their finances, develop relationships on campus and build up academic confidence.