Completion rates are a major concern internally and externally with all postsecondary institutions. Ideally, every student who begins a certificate program or degree would finish. However, no institutions reach this lofty goal, and most attempt to track the reasons why. One typically ignored issue with completion rates is a loophole in the way dependents are insured. While the intent to cover college-age dependents who are in school is a good one, the consequence is sometimes unintentionally negative. Some students enroll in college full-time simply to stay on their family insurance. They have no intention of graduating or of even completing their daily assignments. They simply enroll, attend, and stay on mom and/or dad’s insurance as long as possible.
The result is that this has a negative effect on completion rates, which in turn, has further consequences for universities. Basically, graduation rates are one of the large measuring sticks of a school’s value: the higher the graduation rate, the better the school. The reverse is also deemed to be true. There are movements to tie government subsidies to these rates, too. Although this is certainly not the largest percentage of attrition, it is a loophole that must be closed and certainly could be easily addressed.
Insurance Policies
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) offers a summation of the issue and the loophole for some states. The good intention of laws mandating insurance coverage for students in school up to age 24 is that there is a need to cover the 30% or 13 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 29 who do not have health care coverage; however, in some states and some situations, dependents in this age group must be students (NCSL, 2012). The amount of required enrollment varies from state to state; for many, the student must be full-time which means at least 12 credits or 3-4 classes.
Few, if any, would argue that these persons should not have healthcare coverage; however, the abuse of this loophole is often overlooked. Here’s how it works.
Insurance Scam
A twenty-something does not have insurance of her own, and she can not afford to purchase it. Therefore, she enrolls in 12 college credits and attends her classes. However, she has no desire to pursue a college degree or maybe she has already earned one. Therefore, she sits in the classroom and does almost nothing. With the rapid growth of online learning, this problem is exacerbated because it’s even easier in an online course to just check in to the class via a smartphone, maybe complete a couple of basic tasks, and get credit for attendance.
What to me is even more frustrating is how open some students are about this. I remember having a male student in one of my classes about six years ago who sat in the corner with his back to us almost every day for the entire semester. Sparing the details of how many times and ways I tried to engage him in the class, at most, he would only shrug his shoulders and mumble that he either “didn’t know” the answer or “didn’t want to participate” in the activity. Finally, during the last week of class when everyone else was giving presentations, I tried one final time to get him to share something. His response to me and in front of the entire class was that he was only there to stay covered on his parents’ insurance. The other students were outraged.
Students at most secondary institutions, public, private, non-profit, and for-profit, can typically retake classes two or three times before finally being dismissed from the university; they can then move on to the next one.
Negative Effects
I was fortunate to have an exceptional group otherwise in this class; however, there were obvious internal affects. Each individual in a class contributes to the overall atmosphere. Classes have personalities just as people do, and most faculty try to build a strong learning community in which everyone is engaged in pursuing the learning objectives. It’s vital whether F2F or online that the professor and group of students take ownership of the learning process and support one another through it. When one student, like the ones I have described above, does not engage academically or socially, it brings the community down a notch. It’s a bit like a living in a Norman Rockwell neighborhood with well kempt homes and manicured lawns; then a neighbor moves in who defers maintenance and never mows. Suddenly, the appearance and property values begin to decline. These students are a distraction and detraction for their classmates and their instructors. Just like the neighborhood, the value of the educational experience is driven downward.
Furthermore, when it comes to completion rates, clearly these students have a negative effect. Hall, Jung, and Rhoads completed a study entitled: “Does the Availability of Parental Health Insurance Affect the College Enrollment Decision of Young Americans?” in which they discovered that 80% of those 19-24 and above who had insurance through their parents were also enrolled in college (13 May, 2011). They also found that when health insurance through parents is an option for a student, these young adults are 20.5% more likely to enroll in college full-time vs. part-time or not at all. Clearly, insurance is a draw. The additional tax exemptions for the insurance premiums that parents receive may be an additional benefit (Hall, Jung, & Rhoads, 13 May, 2011). Finally, many of these students are also on financial aid which makes the attraction to this scam even more tempting. They can not only take advantage of lower insurance rates as dependents of their parents, but they can also attend for free or reduced tuition. Overall, they’re saving money and remaining insured.
However, if we have thousands of students taking seats in college classes with no intention of earning college degrees, this negatively affects the completion rate.
Recommendation
Within this issue, there is certainly an attempt at a greater good that few would argue. Hall, Jung, and Rhoads point out that many of these students who remain dependents on their parent’s insurance because they are college students are from low income families or they are first-generation students; going to school full-time has been shown to increase their chances of success (13 May, 2011). Certainly, greater access, a chance at academic success, and medical coverage are all positives.
However, this loophole needs to be closed. Why not simply require that all of these college students insured through mom and/or dad’s insurance be required to earn at least a C in their classes? This closes the loophole quickly, and everyone wins.
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