Now a psychology junior, Gasso has successfully completed his freshman and sophomore years, and is well beyond what experts call the “at-risk” first semester.

But for almost one in 10 new Spartans, this isn’t the case. And Michigan taxpayers are paying the price.

Students in Michigan colleges and universities who dropped out of school after finishing their first year cost taxpayers more than $251 million between 2003 and 2008, according to a recent study by American Institutes for Research, a nonprofit consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Michigan ranks 10th nationwide in the amount of money spent. The money comes in the form of state appropriations and grants to students.

And although many might attribute the large cost to the size of the state and the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions in said state, Mark Schneider, vice president of American Institutes for Research, or AIR, and author of the study, said the money is a serious issue that policymakers and educators alike need to start addressing.

“Michigan is in trouble financially,” Schneider said. “I’m calling attention to the amount of money left on the table. There are a lot of students, but can Michigan leave $250 million on the table?”

The $250 million is a small part of the almost $9 billion lost nationally on college dropouts.

Whether student dropouts are caused by the struggling economy, academic challenges or lack of preparedness, MSU is aware of the problem and is working to retain its students, said Gary Wood, an adviser with the Undergraduate University Division, or UUD.

“We have a lot of improvement to make because we’d like to be able to retain and have each student who enters the institution persist,” he said. “But we’re doing a lot of things right.”

Pinpointing the problem

Since the nation embarked on President Barack Obama’s mission of making the U.S. No. 1 in the highest amount of college graduates, retention rates have become more and more important, Schneider said.

“You can’t cross the finish line if you don’t finish the first lap,” he said. “I’m hoping this demonstrates to legislators or trustees that business as usual is very expensive. We are not only imposing costs on students who come to college with the best of intentions to graduate, but on taxpayers that are absorbing large costs also.”

The college completion goal will be difficult to reach without accountability and a tracking system to keep data on students through their entire educational process, Lt. Gov. John Cherry said. The idea of implementing a tracking system has been met with resistance both in the Michigan Legislature and in higher education institutions, he said.

“We have to understand why our students stay in school or leave school,” Cherry said. “It doesn’t matter to (higher education institutions) whether they graduate their students or not. They’d like to see their students graduate, but in the end, priorities are priorities and if someone isn’t there to incentivize behavior that’s a little more costly ­— they won’t engage in it.”

By eliminating the Michigan Promise Scholarship and its proposed post-graduation incentive, legislators also have eliminated an incentive for students to graduate, he said.

“At some point the legislature is going to have to accept the notion that they have to track change and create incentives for students to finish school,” Cherry said.

Tackling the transition

Wood said the university offers numerous services to try and help students who are struggling, including the learning centers, tutoring services and advising.

With Michigan’s economy lagging, students are coming into college with more financial stresses than ever, said Scott Becker, associate director of the MSU Counseling Center. The Counseling Center addresses anxiety, depression and stress, among other things, through workshops, support groups and counselors, Becker said.

“Many people think reaching out is a sign of weakness, not strength,” he said. “We see students with a wide range of issues, and reaching out is a sign of strength and resiliency.”

Students struggling financially also can contact the Office of Financial Aid, which might be able to help with innovative solutions, office director Rick Shipman said. The office can help students in special situations and in everyday money binds with situational grants, scholarships, budgeting, short term loans and general advising.

“They should not drop out of MSU without talking to us,” he said.

One of the biggest struggles for students to overcome is the academic transition, said DeAndre Carter, an MSU alumnus and academic advising specialist for the UUD.

“They’re successful in their hometowns, accustomed to being the best students with the best grades, but they’ve never dealt with a school of this size,” Carter said.

“The new independence and freedom of managing their own time can be a very difficult transition. There’s nothing you can do to make some students graduate. You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

Informing students of campus resources like the Learning Resources Center and the Math Learning Center is important, Carter said.

“On the flip-side, many of those (lost) funds were probably targeted at high-risk students, and if they’re high-risk, there usually needs to be a high level of support,” he said. “We need to evaluate how much support we’re giving to students in making that transition.”

Upping the ante is something the Office of Admissions expects students to do when they arrive at MSU, Director of Admissions Jim Cotter said.

“By and large, how the student performs once they get here depends on not only continuing past performance, but going beyond that level,” he said.

For Gasso, getting involved was the best way to transition.

“I remember people that just wanted to go home and a lot of people cried a lot in their first few months,” he said. “If you find something tailored to you — like a sport or a club — that will give you a sense of community that’s a positive, especially if it can make a big school seem like a smaller place.”