APLU Releases Report on Public and Land-grant Universities’ Degree Completion Strategies

In an effort to elevate student success innovations and support degree completion nationally, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today released a report on public and land-grant universities’ strategies to improve degree completion over the past decade.

The report, which draws on data from applications for the association’s annual Degree Completion Award from 2015 to 2024, examines completion strategies at 90 APLU institutions across 41 states with varied missions, enrollment sizes, and student populations. The APLU Degree Completion Award, which has since evolved to the APLU Excellence in Student Success Award, recognizes institutions with demonstrated measurable progress in improving student outcomes. The research chronicles the evolution of degree completion efforts from distinct, focused initiatives into more holistic, institutional student strategies.

The analysis of applications revealed several recurring institutional system redesigns and targeted programmatic strategies universities used to support student completion. Institutional systems included coordinated institutional infrastructure, data-informed advising and predictive systems, guided academic pathways, and holistic embedded wellbeing. Targeted strategies to remove student success barriers included completion-focused financial strategies and reengagement of stop-outs, transfer, and adult learners.

Additionally, the applications revealed three distinct phases. Early initiatives frequently concentrated on first-year retention and transition programs. Institutions later expanded these efforts to be more connected and coordinated, namely advising and curricular reforms that clarified pathways through degree programs. In the most recent submissions, universities expanded their support to describe more comprehensive approach to success. These supports more intentionally integrated academic, financial, and student wellness across the institution. While individual institutions adopted different strategies, the larger trend shows a trajectory of gradual shift from programmatic-level interventions toward institution-wide coordination.

Overall, the research found:

• Sustained improvement required structural alignment across institutional units.
• Institutional strategy increasingly reflected a shift toward precision in supporting students when, where, and how they need it.
• Supports expanded across the student lifecycle.
• Growing institutional sophistication in measuring progress and evaluating outcomes.

APLU’s U.S. member campuses enroll 4.5 million undergraduates and 1.4 million graduate students, and award 1.3 million degrees annually. Public and land-grant universities play a vital role in preparing students for societally important roles such as nurses, dentists, doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

Public universities also provide the most affordable path to a high-quality college education. Published in-state tuition and fees at public four-year universities average $11,950, lower than a decade ago after accounting for inflation. On average, in-state students at public four-year institutions paid just $2,300 in tuition and fees after scholarships, grants, and tax benefits. More than four in ten students at public four-year universities complete their bachelor’s degree with zero debt. Among those who do borrow, the average debt at graduation is $27,420.