Colleges have spent years developing programs to flag students with learning difficulties. But a new report from TimelyCare suggests that many students at risk of dropping out are struggling in the classroom—performing well but quietly isolating themselves in ways that institutions often miss.
The findings come from a national survey conducted in January of more than 1,000 students enrolled at four-year institutions. The report found that 92 percent reported academic confidence, with the majority reporting a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
However, when asked about persistence, 31 percent said they had considered transferring and 24 percent said they had considered dropping out—highlighting the disconnect between academic performance and the overall college experience.
Nicole Trevino, vice president of student success at TimelyCare, said academic stability is no longer a reliable proxy for student well-being.
“Institutions do a good job of collecting metrics as they relate to academic progress and utilization — whether that’s the use of campus counseling or the use of resources on campus — but that’s supporting outcomes,” Trevino said. “What happens is that the institutions don’t really listen to the students, that’s where it stops.”
In particular, the report highlights that the most striking findings are not about troubled students; are students who report that they “do WELL.” These students represent 49 percent of respondents—the largest group in the survey—and carry little or no risk.
“From an academic standpoint, they seem to be doing well, but what we do know is that emotionally, there are concerns that come up,” Trevino said.
A quiet place: The report found that institutions have strong systems in place to identify students when challenges arise. However, it notes that these measures are “functional by design” and often miss earlier signs of disengagement—such as stress and burnout that have not yet become a problem, a gradual loss of identity, increasing uncertainty about academic or career direction, and a quiet withdrawal from campus life.
Trevino said institutions often don’t recognize these signs in “high-performing” students. He emphasized the importance of tracking students multiple times throughout their college career.
“Students may start their freshman year on track, for example, but if something changes, being able to recognize that and intervene, to create ways to support students, is important,” Trevino said.
He added that burnout is often normalized rather than treated as a warning sign, causing students to adapt to uncontrollable situations long before they seek help.
“Students need systematic, content-based ways to first assess and identify those non-academic symptoms before they are expelled,” Trevino said.
Dealing with listening difficulties: For Trevino, it is important for higher education leaders to rethink how they define at-risk students and how they collect and use such information.
“Before that happens, I intervene before students decide to drop out or drop out of college altogether,” Trevino said.
The best way forward is for higher education leaders to move beyond academic and performance-based metrics and prioritize listening to students’ needs, he said, adding that more students would welcome structured admissions. According to this study, about 85% said they would respond positively if they came from their institutions and asked how they are doing.
“That’s where the opportunity lies,” Trevino said. “The opportunity to put together all of that great metric information that they’re capturing in the voice of the student—and being able to make those pieces fit together—gives a complete picture of what students are experiencing.”
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