Students "Doing OK" Can Still Be at Risk

"Academic stability is no longer a reliable proxy for student well-being. Institutions do a good job of gathering metrics as it relates to academic progression and utilization—whether that's utilization of campus counseling or utilization of services on campus—but those are outcomes support. What's happening is institutions are not really listening to students, and that's where there's a disconnect."

"The most distinctive finding isn't about students in crisis; it's students who report they're 'doing OK.' These students represent 49 percent of respondents—the largest group in the survey—and carry the least visible retention risk. From an academic standpoint, they do look like they're doing OK, but what we know is that emotionally, there are some concerns that are emerging."

"Institutions have robust systems for identifying students when challenges arise. However, these measures are 'reactive by design' and often miss earlier signals of disengagement—such as stress and burnout."

A TimelyCare survey of over 1,000 undergraduate students reveals a critical gap between academic performance and college persistence. While 92 percent reported academic confidence and most maintained GPAs of 3.0 or higher, 31 percent considered transferring and 24 percent considered stopping out. The largest group surveyed—49 percent—reported doing OK academically but showed emerging emotional concerns. Institutions rely on academic metrics and service utilization data to identify at-risk students, but these reactive systems miss early disengagement signals like stress and burnout. The disconnect stems from institutions not actively listening to students about their overall well-being beyond academic progression.

Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs