California spends most on first-year college dropout

Although many concerns and debates have risen regarding education funding in California, a new study has shown that the state annually invests nearly half a billion dollars on students that do not return for their sophomore year of college.

The report, titled “Finishing the First Lap: The Cost of First Year Student Attrition in America’s Four Year College or Universities,” took data from 2003 through 2008 in order to analyze the total amount of tax dollars that go toward freshmen in college who do not return for a second year.

It ranked California, Texas and New York as the top three states, with California first at $467 million.

The report does not take into consideration students who transfer into other institutions to complete their degree nor does it acknowledge students’ reason for dropping out of school. The report does not factor in population of the states as well.

“We need to start thinking about students as clients and start asking what do they need and how do we satisfy their needs,” Mark Schneider, author of the study, said to the Los Angeles Times.

Schneider also said that the report is not an advocacy for “disinvestment in higher education but rather a challenge for state governments to demand institutions to do a better job.”