Texans are completing the credits, but not getting the degree

Texas 2036 today released Earned but Not Awarded: Unlocking Opportunity for Texas’ Potential Completers, a new analysis showing that tens of thousands of Texans have completed much of the work required for a college degree but have not received the relevant credential. The report highlights an overlooked opportunity to strengthen the state’s talent pipeline at a time when demand for skilled workers continues to rise.

Texas employers will require more education and training as they hire for the in-demand jobs of the future. Estimates show that in coming years more than 60 percent of Texas jobs will need education beyond high school. Yet only about a third of students currently complete a postsecondary credential within six years of graduating from high school.

Meeting Texas’ 2030 goal of 60 percent of working-age Texans holding a credential of value will require more than improving enrollment. It will require recognizing the progress that students have already made.

A Hidden Population: Texas’ Potential Completers

The report identifies “potential completers,” meaning students who mostly attend four-year universities and earn 60 or more college credits, the equivalent of an associate degree, but leave without a credential. From 2012 to 2022, more than 54,000 Texans met this definition. Nearly 39,000 of them finished all their coursework at their original four-year institution.

“These Texans did not walk away after a few classes,” said Grace Atkins, policy advisor for workforce and postsecondary education at Texas 2036. “They have put in years of effort, passed difficult courses and built real skills. But because they leave without the final credential, they miss out on opportunities they have already earned, and our state misses out as well.”

Who Are Potential Completers?

The report provides a demographic snapshot of this population:

• Gender: Men are slightly more likely than women to become potential completers, 6 percent compared with 4.6 percent.
• Race and Ethnicity: About 7 percent of Black students fall into this category, compared with 5 percent of Hispanic students, 4.5 percent of Asian students, and 4 percent of white students.
• Financial Background: Potential completers are more likely to receive Pell Grants, and they receive an average of $3,500 more in Pell funding than their peers.

The bottom line is these students have made significant academic progress in their postsecondary careers, averaging 50 or more in-major credits in fields like transportation, visual and performing arts, and architecture. Common sense reforms identified by this report hold the potential to put these Texans on track to earn salaries commensurate with their training and expertise.

What Happens After Students Leave?

Wage and employment outcomes begin to diverge quickly between potential completers and students who finish an associate degree. Early wages are similar, but associate degree earners experience faster wage growth and higher employment over time. The report finds that gaps become especially significant in technical fields. For example:

• Engineering technologies: potential completers earn about $25,000 less per year.
• Mathematics: wage gaps exceed $13,000 per year.

“These differences show the power of a credential,” said Carlo Castillo, data analyst at Texas 2036. “Even when students complete strong coursework, the lack of a degree limits the jobs they can access and the wages they can earn.”

Five Strategies to Help Students Get the Credit They Deserve

The report also outlines five strategies that would help Texas award credentials based on progress already made:

1. Retroactive credentialing: Allow four-year universities to award associate degrees to former students who earned enough credits before leaving school, ensuring their progress is formally recognized.
2. Embedded credentials: Build clear milestones into four-year degree pathways so students earn marketable certificates or associate degrees along the way.
3. Reverse transfer: Texas already has a reverse transfer system that lets community college students earn an associate degree after transferring to a university once they meet the requirements. Texas can make progress to streamline this process across institutions to help more students receive the credentials they’ve already earned.
4. Credit Portability: Reduce the credit loss that often occurs during transfer so students do not have to retake courses or lose momentum.
5. Competency-based education: Let students earn credit based on demonstrated skills, not seat time, especially in high-demand technical fields.

Each approach would help convert completed coursework into a credential of value. Doing so would strengthen individual opportunity and bolster the state’s workforce at a time where Texas needs to invest in developing the skilled workers necessary to continuing the state’s economic growth.

To read the full Earned But Not Awarded report, click here.