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Letter To Secretary of Education

Rory Dyson, a non-traditional student pursuing an engineering degree, writes to Betsy Davos about high college dropout rates. Dyson notes current median retention rates are around 61% but vary significantly between colleges. Factors contributing to lower retention include students needing to work more to afford education, interfering with studies. One program, ASAP at CUNY, saw positive effects by providing students support like book vouchers, supplies, transportation to help afford attendance and feel less alone with its ACE program. Dyson believes implementing such a program nationwide could help reduce money lost on unpaid loans and slow the rising cost of education.

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930 views2 pages

Letter To Secretary of Education

Rory Dyson, a non-traditional student pursuing an engineering degree, writes to Betsy Davos about high college dropout rates. Dyson notes current median retention rates are around 61% but vary significantly between colleges. Factors contributing to lower retention include students needing to work more to afford education, interfering with studies. One program, ASAP at CUNY, saw positive effects by providing students support like book vouchers, supplies, transportation to help afford attendance and feel less alone with its ACE program. Dyson believes implementing such a program nationwide could help reduce money lost on unpaid loans and slow the rising cost of education.

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10/21/2019

THE HONORABLE BETSY DAVOS


SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
400 MARYLAND AVENUE SW
LBJ EDUCATION BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 2020 2

Dear Betsy Davos,

I am writing to you about the college drop out rates. My name is Rory Dyson, and I am a non-traditional
student. I have spent many years in and out of the education system working towards obtaining an
Engineering degree. I know how easy it is to be forgotten by the system or even have it work against you
at times. As a returning student, I have first-hand knowledge of some of the current problems within the
system. There are some personal issues to consider as well as systematic ones when looking at the current
drop out rate among our youth.

As you know, currently, the average median retention rate is around 61% of students. In some colleges, it
can reach upwards of 80% while other colleges get well below 50%. These numbers signal that something
is drastically wrong when over half of your students won’t continue with their education. Some of the
factors that are recurring themes with the lower schools are that the students have to work harder to be
able to afford their education. The cost of attending causes them to take jobs that interfere with their
ability to study, while other universities manage to give students the support they need to not concern
themselves with day to day needs. I will admit, this is not an easy issue to contend with, but we must look
for solutions to this problem. Students who try to go to school, and within the first year or two drops out,
then have they can’t or won’t repay. These actions cause the pricing to increase, while simultaneously
reducing funding for students who are currently going.
One program that seems to have helped combat these problems is ASAP (Accelerates Study in Associates
Program) at City University of New York. This system came with an array of supportive methods to help
the unfortunate masses attempting to earn a degree. ASAP helps students with book vouchers, supplies,
transportation, and necessities that the funding may not cover. ASAP coupled with its ACE (Accelerate,
Complete, Engage) program, has had some positive effects at the universities that implemented them.
ACE is a great way to help the students not feel alone by having that one-on-one approach, while ASAP
gives much-needed support that can mean the difference between making it to class, and having to work
an extra shift at the dead-end job because you can’t afford to get to class.

If we were to implement this nationwide, I believe we would see a change in our education system as a
whole. We could steadily reduce the money lost on loans that students can’t repay and begin minimizing
the need for students to take such large loans. If we can manage even to slow the ever-growing cost of
education, we might have a chance to begin helping them.

SINCERELY,

RORY DYSON

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