Finding Solutions for the “Summer Melt” With StudentTracker

Spartanburg Academic Movement Uses StudentTracker to Transform College Enrollment and Spark Statewide Change

In one South Carolina county, a nonprofit organization was able to harness the power of the National Student Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker for High Schools service to more clearly understand what actually happens to their students after high school graduation. What began as an exercise to collect accurate student data brought to light a population of students at risk of slipping through the cracks. It also eventually reshaped summer-support programs, improved state reporting, and influenced policy across South Carolina.

The Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) is a nonprofit, community-based organization in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. They focus on improving the academic community across the region’s seven school districts. The organization uses StudentTracker to identify achievement gaps and works with community partners to reduce and remove those gaps. Ultimately, this creates better opportunities for all, anchored in academic achievement.

This county once relied on a state-mandated “college freshman report.” Under this system, seniors reported their post-graduation plans to their school system during an exit interview. School counselors followed up with students after graduation to confirm this information, and they submitted the results to the state.

While this system sounded straightforward in theory, the process was flawed. That’s because it placed a heavy administrative burden on school counselors. In practice, counselors spent hours calling graduates who no longer answered school emails, and many students were unreachable. The reported college-going rates looked impressive, but they were based largely on self-reported intentions.

However, this perception shifted when leaders of SAM attended a Clearinghouse workshop on StudentTracker. StudentTracker is the only nationwide tool that follows students as they enter higher education, pause their studies, transfer institutions, and complete degrees. Capturing these diverse educational pathways enables schools and community partners to gain a clearer view of long-term outcomes. They can also leverage data-driven strategies to support student success.

The first StudentTracker reports revealed a startling reality. Actual postsecondary enrollment across the seven school districts was far lower than reported. Instead of the projected 80% enrollment rate, the actual figure was closer to 60%. In the first year alone, more than 500 of the approximately 2,300 students who intended to enroll never made it to campus in the fall. This gap — students who plan to attend college but fail to enroll — is known as “summer melt.”

The data from StudentTracker was more accurate, timely, and actionable than the college freshman report the county had been using. SAM met with the seven school districts in the county and shared the StudentTracker findings. It encouraged schools to review their individual reports to identify opportunities to support their student populations better.

From these meetings, schools now knew they were losing hundreds of students in the transition from high school to college. They also knew they needed a program to intervene for at-risk students slipping through the cracks.

SAM was also able to share the value of college dual enrollment because of StudentTracker’s dual enrollment reporting. In the county, 98% of students who dual-enrolled with grades above a “C” successfully pursued postsecondary education. SAM also integrated summer melt data with demographic information to dispel stereotypes that high school staff members were making about student behavior. This allowed schools to identify the students who needed intervention.

“We realized that the college freshman report was more of an intent to enroll, while the StudentTracker numbers are actual enrollment,” said Beth Thompson, the Chief Impact Officer at SAM. “We realized that we were losing students during the summer, and we started identifying students who were most at risk of ‘melting’ with the help of the school counselors.”

SAM designed a pilot program, called Start Smart, to address summer melt. Trained volunteer “coaches” texted, with permission, graduating seniors during the summer months to help them navigate enrollment tasks. The focus was on students most at risk of melting out. This included first-generation college students, students planning to attend community college, and students with known barriers to persistence. Coaches answered students’ questions, walked them through tricky enrollment portals, and helped them find the right person on campus when roadblocks emerged.

The program launched in 2020, unexpectedly aligning with COVID-era needs when in-person support became almost impossible. The county saw significant improvements in fall enrollment, though the exact numbers vary by school and year. And schools finally understood why so many students disappeared between June and August. Students, especially those who were low-income or first-generation, faced challenges ranging from administrative hurdles to confusion about financial aid — but they could often overcome these roadblocks with guidance and mentorship from their community.

Leaders from SAM were represented on the state’s Education Oversight Committee. They began advocating for the state to adopt Clearinghouse data and eliminate the outdated college freshman report. Their argument was simple. Clearinghouse data was more accurate, reduced school counselors’ workload, and provided actionable insights to improve student outcomes.

This lobbying effort was successful. Eventually, South Carolina replaced the manual report with Clearinghouse data obtained via StudentTracker. The results are used for statewide reporting to enhance transparency and improve outcomes.

The state even contracted SAM to deliver technical assistance to high schools across South Carolina. The organization helps educators interpret their reports and use the data meaningfully.

Building on years of summer melt work, the county is now launching a broader, college access program, called “Big Mo.” They grounded the design in years of data and proven strategies. StudentTracker revealed where students were falling through the cracks, and Smart Start showed that personalized, timely communication — especially via text — could dramatically reduce summer melt. Big Mo takes those lessons and scales them across the county, combining financial support with proactive outreach and reminders. By integrating evidence-based practices into a comprehensive Promise Program, Big Mo ensures that every graduate who opts in has the resources, guidance, and financial backing to stay on track for their postsecondary plans.

This expansion brings the county closer to a long-held vision: a sustainable, large-scale approach to supporting students after high school graduation, regardless of their pathways. What began as an exercise to verify the accuracy of the county’s reporting evolved into a successful effort to support students better. This, in turn, sparked a statewide movement to modernize postsecondary reporting.

By combining accurate data, thoughtful intervention, and advocacy, SAM has helped hundreds more students reach college each year. It also created a model that other states can learn from. To learn more, contact Meghan Smith, Director of the Center for Postsecondary Success at SAM by email at msmith@learnwithsam.org.

Explore how StudentTracker can empower your organization to identify student pathways and improve outcomes.

“We realized that the college freshman report was more of an intent to enroll, while the StudentTracker numbers are actual enrollment.”

Beth Thompson
Chief Impact Officer, SAM