How does the Degree Progress Analysis account for students who may not have a degree as a goal?
People attend community colleges for a variety of reasons other than earning a degree. Identifying degree-seekers is not straightforward, as student goal data are often incomplete, changeable, out of date, and even deliberately false. Students may not know whether they want to pursue a degree when they enroll. Data collection systems may not reliably collect student goal data. Relying on a student’s declared major is problematic since many colleges require all students (including non-degree-seekers) to declare a major, and to qualify for financial aid students may have to declare themselves to be degree-seeking. An alternative to reliance on goal questions or declared majors is to examine student enrollment behavior. The Maryland Work Team decided to modify a criterion used in Florida that examines the achievements of students earning at least 18 semester credits. The Work Team changed this to 18 semester hours attempted and included non-credit-bearing developmental courses in the calc
