This is desperately needed:

Enrollment in community colleges exploded during the recession, as tens of thousands of Americans sought refuge from a hostile job market by going to school.

But history suggests that most of those students probably won't graduate.

Despite a slight drop in enrollment in the current academic year, there were 21.8% more students signed up for courses at the nation's 1,200 community colleges in the fall of 2011 than there were in the fall of 2007, the American Association of Community Colleges estimates.

But U.S. Department of Education data from the 2000s show that a whopping 65% of those who start community colleges haven't earned a degree or other credential after six years.

Community colleges across the country, backed by several big foundations, have been experimenting with ways to keep students long enough to finish a program.

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• U.S. NEWS
• Updated April 25, 2012, 10:29 p.m. ET
• http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303592404577363862291594688.html

Academics Launch New Efforts to Retain Community-College Students

By DAVID WESSEL