Kentucky Study Links Internships and Co-ops to Higher College Completion Across 327,000 Students
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) on November 13 released the state's first statewide study of work-based learning in Frankfort, finding that students who complete a credit-bearing internship, co-op or practicum are less likely to stop out and more likely to finish a credential. The report tracks more than 327,000 first-time students who entered Kentucky public universities or Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) schools from fall 2010 through fall 2021.
Participants stopped out at lower rates each term: 6 percent versus 10 percent for non-participants at KCTCS, and 3 percent versus 5 percent at public universities. Among students who passed a work-based learning course, 60 percent at KCTCS and 86 percent at public universities completed a credential. For Pell Grant recipients who participated as freshmen, completion roughly doubled from 24 to 49 percent, and for first-generation students from 25 to 51 percent. CPE President Aaron Thompson presented highlights at Friday's council meeting.
The council stressed that the study describes associations rather than proof of cause, though the pattern holds across fields of study and multiple methods. The report is a companion to CPE's Work-Based Learning in Kentucky: Policy and Practice Blueprint released in August 2026. CPE will host a free webinar on the findings on Monday, November 16, at 2 p.m. Eastern, led by report authors Chris Ledford and Miles Feroli of CPE and Natalie Gross of KCTCS. Kentucky's 60x30 goal calls for 60 percent of working-age adults to hold a postsecondary credential by 2030; attainment now stands at 55.5 percent.
(Source: Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education)
Source: Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Floral Clock-Frankfort-Kentucky State Capitol-Kentucky-USA-20180910，作者 Mhsheikholeslami，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0；Photo: Floral Clock-Frankfort-Kentucky State Capitol-Kentucky-USA-20180910, by Mhsheikholeslami, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
