Bringing Students Back: Some Credit, No Credential

Crimsonbridge is pleased to publish new research titled “Bringing Students Back: Re-engagement Strategies for Students with Some Credit, No Credential.” Developed during this year’s SREE Summer Research Fellowship and produced in collaboration with the Crimsonbridge Foundation and the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), Sky Duke (Doctoral Student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison) profiles successful programs that re-engage students who left college before earning a degree or credential.  

As a Grantmakers for Education (GFE) member, Crimsonbridge was eligible to apply for the SREE Summer Research Fellowship, which also provided support from a research coach, Rebecca Griffiths of Digital Promise. The SREE Fellow researched, analyzed, and developed several publications that Crimsonbridge will disseminate over the course of the upcoming year.  

Key Context 

• Commonly known as students with some credit, no credential (SCNC) or stop-outs, this area has impacted the urgency of the college completion crisis. More than 37 million U.S. adults fall into this category, having invested in college without reaping the benefits of completion. 

• Why does this matter now? Given rising economic demands for credential attainment, increasing costs, and evolving workforce needs, supporting credit-holders to return and complete a credential is an economic priority that directly impacts college success across communities and the nation.  

New Research 

The SREE fellowship helped answer key questions on how colleges have successfully re-engaged students who have accumulated credits but left without obtaining a credential, and took a deep dive into four institutional examples: Pueblo Community College’s Return to Earn scholarship with holistic supports; York Technical College’s Reconnect with York free-tuition guarantee; Lakeside Community College’s College Comeback Compact debt-forgiveness partnership; and Chattanooga State College’s statewide Tennessee Reconnect program. 

Key insights for funders and institutions 

• Re-engagement programs create powerful pathways to economic mobility, with graduates seeing rapid wage gains. 

• Comprehensive student supports—childcare, flexible scheduling, proactive advising—are critical to completion. 

• Holistic approaches benefit students across racial, ethnic, and income groups. 

• Programs are cost-effective and can generate new tuition revenue for colleges. 

• Local successes spark broader policy change, inspiring new initiatives across states and systems. 

This report offers funders and higher education leaders a roadmap to re-engage SCNC students and advance equitable college completion. 

To access the full research, data, and recommendations, visit https://www.crimsonbridge.org/research-and-publications.