Hidden Costs of Community Colleges Web Tool

Nearly $4 billion was spent by federal, state, and local governments over five years on full-time community college students who dropped out after their first year without completing their certificate or degree programs, according to the new report, “The Hidden Costs of Community Colleges”, from AIR and College Measures.

Using U.S. Department of Education data, we have analyzed full-time students who didn’t return for a second year, while adjusting figures to account for students who transferred to four-year institutions. The cost of dropouts would be higher if part-time students and other government funding, such as direct federal support and capital expenditures, were included in the analysis.

With states and localities spending far more than the federal government on community colleges, and nearly every state facing serious budget shortfalls, the cost of community college dropouts to state taxpayers is especially troubling.

Below, you can use our interactive web tool to see how much has been spent in taxpayer dollars to educate these non-returning community college students, both at the state and institution level. In addition to the community colleges reviewed in the report, private for-profit and private not-for-profit institutions are shown below. To access the full report, please click here.

West Virginia

Estimated First-Year Attrition
20%	Rank: 50
Statewide Cost of Attrition
$3,215,251	Rank: 39

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Two-Year Institution

Estimated First-Year Attrition

State Appropriations Lost

Student Grants Lost

Cost of First Year Attrition

Potomac State College of West Virginia University	20%	$0	$276,394	$276,394
Pierpont Community and Technical College	19%	$0	$258,262	$258,262
Marshall Community and Technical College	23%	$336,459	$235,274	$571,733
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College	16%	$381,780	$221,957	$603,737
West Virginia State Community and Technical College	23%	$214,065	$183,353	$397,417
West Virginia Northern Community College	17%	$225,595	$172,698	$398,293
Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology	21%	$252,414	$127,668	$380,082
Huntington Junior College	23%	$0	$82,562	$82,562
West Virginia Junior College	30%	$0	$48,380	$48,380
West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport	20%	$0	$38,616	$38,616
West Virginia Junior College	15%	$0	$37,891	$37,891
West Virginia Business College-Wheeling	24%	$0	$32,045	$32,045
Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College	14%	$58,851	$15,888	$74,739
Mountain State College	6%	$0	$763	$763
Everest Institute-Cross Lanes	21%	$0	$0	$0
Valley College	18%	$0	$0	$0
Valley College	19%	$0	$0	$0
Carver Career Center	5%	$14,337	$0	$14,337
Valley College	12%	$0	$0	$0