I’m working currently on a book about why people choose college. In the course of the research, I’ve listened to hundreds of students tell their story about how they made the college—or any post secondary education—decision.

What’s striking is that, in almost every single story I listened to where the student dropped out, almost never did the college they were attending reach out to see how they might help them re-enroll.

In the language of a new report by ReUp Education, whose mission is to support students who have stopped out of college, these are “The Forgotten Students.” (Full disclosure: I’m an advisor to the company.)

Over a million students drop out of college each year. Only 43 colleges out of 1,669 reviewed in a study by the Educational Policy Institute had a graduation rate of over 90 percent.

The impact of this on students is well documented. Students who drop out rack up crippling debt without the benefits that come from the earning premium of having a degree.

According to the Lumina Foundation’s “It’s Not Just the Money” paper, there is a tremendous societal cost as well. Students who graduate college have, on average, significantly better health outcomes with lower rates of obesity and heavy drinking.

Given all this, why aren’t institutions better supporting students who have left their campuses to help them get back on track when their circumstances have changed and they are ready? For starters, bringing students who have left back to campus is hard. It is difficult to locate, contact, understand and support them. ReUp estimates that the contact information a college or university has for over a quarter of students who have stopped out is out-of-date.

Read the full article about the forgotten students by Michael Horn at EdSurge.