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.

Wisconsin

Estimated First-Year Attrition
17%	Rank: 29
Statewide Cost of Attrition
$35,626,350	Rank: 5

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Two-Year Institution

Estimated First-Year Attrition

State Appropriations Lost

Student Grants Lost

Cost of First Year Attrition

Madison Area Technical College	19%	$12,111,886	$1,053,243	$13,165,129
Milwaukee Area Technical College	19%	$3,750,012	$345,720	$4,095,733
Chippewa Valley Technical College	15%	$3,012,820	$556,987	$3,569,807
University of Wisconsin Colleges	17%	$2,109,616	$957,691	$3,067,307
Western Technical College	20%	$1,633,501	$150,623	$1,784,123
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College	13%	$1,436,974	$140,499	$1,577,473
Nicolet Area Technical College	21%	$1,070,651	$70,055	$1,140,707
Gateway Technical College	14%	$1,069,546	$90,979	$1,160,525
Waukesha County Technical College	13%	$1,014,484	$56,845	$1,071,329
Blackhawk Technical College	14%	$924,599	$100,673	$1,025,272
Northcentral Technical College	13%	$835,845	$89,526	$925,371
Fox Valley Technical College	14%	$754,391	$53,286	$807,677
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College	14%	$749,680	$79,614	$829,294
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College	12%	$425,623	$65,874	$491,497
Mid-State Technical College	15%	$340,927	$48,956	$389,883
Lakeshore Technical College	15%	$262,030	$19,029	$281,059
Moraine Park Technical College	12%	$153,962	$23,061	$177,023
ITT Technical Institute-Green Bay	21%	$0	$7,286	$7,286
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College	23%	$0	$59,855	$59,855
Madison Media Institute	0%	$0	$0	$0
College of Menominee Nation	0%	$0	$0	$0