Texas Reconnect brings regional groups of colleges and workforce agencies together to find, contact, and re-enroll Texans with some college and no credential, matched to programs that lead to in-demand local jobs. No cost to participating institutions.
Texas Reconnect invites groups of Texas colleges and universities, working alongside local workforce authorities such as Workforce Solutions offices, to commit to a shared regional strategy for reaching students who left college with credit but no credential.
Participating institutions agree to share enrollment resources with Trellis Strategies, acting as the region’s intermediary. Trellis conducts outreach on the group’s behalf and works to re-enroll each student at whichever participating institution offers the strongest match for their continued education and career growth, informed by labor-market data from the region’s workforce partners.
The pilot runs for the 2026–2027 academic year, with services provided at no cost to participating institutions and workforce agencies.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, 2.6 million working-age Texans have some college but no credential, roughly a million more people than are currently enrolled in the state’s colleges and universities. Very few of them re-enroll on their own.
Working-age Texans with some college, no credential.
More stopped-out Texans than students currently enrolled.
Collectively, participating institutions commit to a shared, student-centered re-enrollment strategy for their region, with Trellis Strategies coordinating outreach and matching on the group’s behalf.
Institutions and workforce agencies within the region share student and labor-market data with Trellis Strategies, acting as a neutral regional intermediary.
Trellis contacts stopped-out students on the group’s behalf, by phone and text, and offers an inbound line for students who want more information.
Enrollment-ready students are matched to the participating institution offering the strongest path for their credits, program interest, and regional career growth.
Regions are loosely defined as institutions within about 50 miles of each other, serving a common market.
Confirm mutual interest from at least 3 institutions and at least 1 workforce agency, all within roughly 50 miles of one another and serving a common market.
Send a letter from each president/chancellor to info@trellisstrategies.org.
Trellis Strategies reviews submissions and releases a decision on participating regional groups.
Trellis Strategies arranges a follow-up conference call with your group to walk through next steps for the 2026–2027 pilot year.
One person can submit on behalf of the whole group. You'll get a chance to review everything before sending. Submissions are reviewed by the Trellis Strategies team at info@trellisstrategies.org.
Find how many stopped-out Texans live in your region with Trellis Strategies’ interactive data tool.
Practical strategies for how colleges can start re-enrolling and supporting stopped-out students.
Findings from 3,182 former undergraduates across 58 institutions in 13 states.
Key findings on the experiences, motivations, and barriers of students who left without a credential.
Trellis Strategies is a nonprofit strategic research and technical assistance firm focused on advancing postsecondary education and strengthening the workforce, helping institutions turn data into action across the student experience, from application through graduation.