Earned
but Not
Awarded view the report view the report

Closing Texas' College Completion Gap In just a few years, more than 60% of Texas jobs will require education beyond high school. But right now, only about a third of students finish a postsecondary credential within six years of high school graduation. Meeting the state’s 2030 goal of 60% of working-age Texans holding a credential of value will take more than boosting enrollment. It also means looking at the many students who have already done much of the work for a degree but never received one.

Are many Texans missing out on credentials they've already earned? Texas 2036's report “Earned but Not Awarded: Unlocking Opportunity for Texas’ Potential Completers” highlights these students as “Potential Completers” and the opportunity they offer for Texas’ talent pipeline.

Who are Potential Completers? Potential Completers are students who earn 60 or more credits, which is equivalent of an associate degree, but leave without a credential. From 2012 to 2022, more than 54,000 Texans fell into this category, including nearly 39,000 who completed all their credits at their original four-year university.

What do they look like? MEET DERRICK, THE TRANSFER STUDENT MEET JASMINE, THE PELL GRANT RECIPIENT Derrick started at a community college and later transferred to a university, losing credits in the process. He earned more than 120 credits before stepping away to support his family, yet still left without a credential. 

A retroactive associate degree would give him the recognition he has already earned. Jasmine used Pell Grants to attend a four-year university and worked part-time while earning credits toward a biology degree. When her Pell eligibility ran out after six years, she couldn’t afford to keep going and left with more than 90 credits but no credential.

Her hard work is clear, but without a credential, her skills don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Key takeaways from our report 1. TEXAS HAS AN ATTAINMENT GAP Over 90% of students graduate high school, but only one in three earns a college credential within six years. 2. THE WORKFORCE DEMANDS MORE In 2031, 61% of Texas jobs will require some form of postsecondary training. That means a high school diploma will no longer suffice for good-paying jobs. 3. "POTENTIAL COMPLETERS" ARE A HIDDEN OPPORTUNITY From 2012–2022, more than 54,000 Texans earned 60+ credit hours but left higher education without a credential. 4. PROGRESS WITHOUT RECOGNITION The skills and credits obtained by “Potential Completers” remain invisible in the labor market and state attainment goals. 5. POLICY CAN UNLOCK VALUE Embedded credentials, reverse transfer, credit portability, and retroactive credentialing can turn unfinished progress into meaningful attainment

view the report Explore the strategies Texas can translate these Potential Completers' earned progress into meaningful credentials by strengthening the systems that recognize and award credit for completed coursework.

Reports like this that are worth reading: Improving Funding Efficiencies for Classroom-to-Career Programs in Texas read here Solving for X in Texas read here read here The State of Readiness