Programs at Maryland colleges entice dropouts to return

Students who go straight from high school to college and then finish their degrees in four years make up only 44 percent of the students at University System of Maryland colleges, which include 12 of the state's public institutions.

By intervening with dropouts and at-risk students, college administrators hope to boost their graduation numbers and help students achieve their goals.

"To have someone give you a second chance, it was what I needed," said Mosley, 26, of Parkville.

[...] recently, when students formally dropped out or simply stopped enrolling in classes, the onus fell on them to re-enroll and finish their degree.

Tiffany B. Mfume, director of Morgan's Office of Student Success and Retention, had just switched to a new cellphone carrier in 2009 when she got a letter in the mail from her old phone company stating "We want you back!" with a list of benefits she could get if she returned.

The school also mailed them letters modeled on the one she got from the cell phone company, compete with "We want you back!" and a list of perks they could get if they returned, such as a scholarship of up to $2,500 and one-on-one help with the re-enrollment process.

[...] the university has since expanded the effort to reach those who dropped out many years ago.

Since 2010, about half of the 134 students Mfume reached out to have re-enrolled.

Under that program, colleges can vie for grants of up to $75,000 to pay for scholarships to lure back students, or to pay for support staff or software to help walk students through the process of re-enrolling.

The programs at Morgan and other colleges represent a philosophic shift among college administrators nationally who increasingly are intervening based on predictive data or through programs like the Reclamation Initiative to help students who need a little extra push to complete their degrees.

Morgan hosted its third annual "Welcome Home Day" event in June to help students who'd dropped out complete the re-enrollment process and necessary paperwork with the registrar and financial aid office — in just a few hours.