In an effort to help increase graduation rates, more than 60 higher education institutions in nine states across the United States are participating in an initiative titled, “Project Win-Win.”
The initiative focuses on tracking former students who are merely a couple of credits or a test away from earning their post-secondary credential. Some community colleges and four-year universities have tracked down hundreds of students who are close to completing their degrees with the help of the project, which is financially supported by the Lumina Foundation for Education.
However, resistant students are hampering the success of the project. Carmen Ricotta, a former student of St. Louis Community College, said she has the knowledge and has no need for the full credential.
“It’s a pain,” she told the Associated Press. “I don’t feel like going down to the college to take a test I don’t need. Yeah, I don’t have the degree, but I took all the classes.”
In spite of this attitude from some former students, many institutions plan to continue with the initiative even after Project Win-Win winds down.
Colleges and universities are using this project to help them strive towards meeting President Barack Obama’s college completion goal of 60 percent by 2020.
