Back in December, ASU launched Operation Comeback, an initiative aimed at helping Arizona residents who previously attended ASU but did not complete their degree return to finish their education.
Operation Comeback offers returning students financial and academic support, including per-credit scholarships, personalized advising from reentry specialists and or qualified students, and institutional aid to help address past-due balances that could prevent re-enrollment.
Jennifer Wilken, associate vice provost for the ASU academic enterprise, data strategy, analysis and planning, said the program was created in response to institutional research showing how many students leave the University at different points in their academic careers.
Wilken said those patterns raised questions about what barriers prevent students from graduating and how ASU can better support them.
"We want to fulfill our charter, we want to be measured by how our students succeed," Wilken said. "Data are one way that we understand the world, and from my lens, one of the things those data tell us is that we could do better."
Former students leave college for a range of reasons, including financial strain, familial responsibilities, health challenges or unexpected life circumstances — barriers that returning students said they have lived through firsthand.
Joyce Plaisival, a senior studying nonprofit leadership and management, first attended ASU in 2014 but had to step away after her mother became ill, requiring her and her sisters to help care for her until she passed away.
"During the time in my last semester, my mom got really ill," Plaisival said. "We all just started aiding her and helping take care of my beloved mom, until she passed away. My mom was always very integral in our lives and always advising us to pursue our dreams no matter what. After that, I ran out of funding, and so I could not continue."
Plaisival said she learned about Operation Comeback after receiving a phone call from ASU's outreach staff. At first, she almost ignored it because it appeared as a potential scam call.
When Plaisival answered, she said the outreach staff member explained that ASU was contacting former students who had not completed their degrees and helped connect her with a reentry specialist to begin the reenrollment process.
"I'm still overwhelmed with joy because my bachelor's degree is in view," Plaisival said. "This is my last block of classes. After I'm done, I can graduate. I will feel so complete having a bachelor's degree, and I'm forever grateful to that call."
Plaisival said returning student should not let setbacks keep them from finishing their degree.
"Never give up on your dreams," Plaisival said. "Just keep pushing ... Never let your age get in the way of anything, either. As long as we still have breath in our bodies, I'm a life learner, and as long as I still have breath in my body, I will always pursue education."
Another returning student, Cassandra Carey, a sophomore studying community health, shared that chronic health issues necessitated her stepping away from ASU nearly a decade ago.
"I had to pick either to continue working or continue with my education," Carey said in a written statement. "I HAD to choose working so I could keep my health insurance."
She said she had heard of the program through an ABC15 Facebook post and decided to pursue reenrollment.
"I honestly wasn't sure I would ever come back," Carey said in the written statement. "It has been a thought in the back of my mind for the last year or so. I think Operation Comeback was the push I needed."
Carey said finishing her degree is a personal goal, but she hopes to use it to support others in navigating the health care system. She shared that she was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and wants to focus on patient advocacy.
"I want to help people have someone who they can lean on when there are questions, like paying a bill or making an appointment with a specialist," Carey said in the written statement. "I have been ill my whole life, so I think being a patient and having my degrees will be very helpful."
Wilken said Operation Comeback is designed to reach students ASU may not be able to identify through institutional data alone, since the University cannot always see what personal circumstances may have caused them to step away.
"Please reach out," Wilken said. "We're here for you. When you're ready, we're ready."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Jack McCarthy and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at mmart533@asu.edu.
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MJ is a senior reporter. She previously worked as a part-time reporter for Sci-Tech.
