Graduation rates: some colleges don't make the grade
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
By: Elizabeth Fiedler
efiedler@whyy.org
Across the nation students are donning caps and gowns and heading to graduation ceremonies. A new report from the American Enterprise Institute of more than 1,300 colleges and universities shows that even at schools with similar admissions criteria, graduation rates vary widely. (Photo: Flickr/dstrelau)
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At the top of the list for the Philadelphia area, Haverford, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania all have graduation rates over 90 percent. On the flip side Delaware Valley College, York College, and Lincoln University, have graduation rates of 50 percent or less.
Gwynedd-Mercy, an area Catholic college, clocks in with a 77-percent graduation rate.
Jim Abbuhl is Vice President for Enrollment Management. He says Gwynedd-Mercy is working to improve that number. Part of that plan includes a program called "First Year Experience" where a faculty member is matched with incoming freshmen.
Abbuhl: That faculty member becomes their faculty mentor for them. Not only to talk about academics but at times within that class they might talk about time management, study skills, for many of those students making a transition to living on campus and living away from home for the first time.
Abbuhl says the fall semester of the program is held in a classroom, but for the spring semester freshmen do community service projects.
Keeping students in school — in the Philadelphia area — is the mission of Campus Philly, a non-profit group that works with area colleges and universities to try to attract domestic and international students, and connect them with internships and job opportunities.
Senior Director Melanie Rago says it's important to keep students engaged with the campus community and provide academic support like a writing center or tutoring.
Rago: You go to a college campus for a tour and you might hear them talk about classroom size. And part of it has to do with if you have a clasroom size of 30 and under, then that faculty person is more likely able to give individualized attention and support where needed.
Another support mechanism to keep kids going to class….is fun. Again, Melanie Rago.
Rago: Different clubs and organizations and social activities. From an outside perspective that might seem like frills but it really is integral to the success of students at a college or university.
Schneider: We spend an awful lot of time getting kids you know ready to graduate from high school. And then all of the sudden we say, okay congratulations, go to college.
Mark Schneider is co-author of the report. He says graduation numbers need to be readily available to parents, students, and guidance counselors so they can make good choices before kids pick a school.
Schneider: We never think about the next step which is hey you can get into a range of schools – this is your GPA this is your SATs or your ACTs. And then we send them to a school where the chances of you graduating with your credentials are three times higher or four times higher in one school as compared to another.
Schneider says it's difficult to tell how the economic downturn, could change student populations and graduation rates.
then there are some good students. And, if Lincoln did not take them, they will be closed to the benefit of a higher education experience. Lastly, every now and then, Lincoln has realized some gems among the classes.
I am on the Board at Lincoln University. Traditionally, Lincoln Lincoln serves students from all across the nation and when people started taking our students away (by increased schorship aid), we dug down deep and decided that we would become a regional school.
Dr. Ivory Nelson, the president, has done a fantastic job. Over the past 10 years, he has built three buildings; he has renovated the Student Union Building; and he has renovated almost the entire campus.
In our mode as a regional school, we get about 40% of our students from Philadelphia. Even though the city of Philadelphia doe not require mathmatics, we are literally forced to take the students. We spend tons of money trying to teach them math but I know that the students will not learn math (in a university setting) as well as they should!
Also the students that Lincoln takes, from Philadelphia, are the "first generation" – a task that Lincoln a couple of decades ago. The students from Philadelphia (and I am not picking on Philadelphia except the city should have a math requirement) enter classes with students that are far superior to them. They try to catch up and oftentimes they fail. So, they drop out after one or two years. This fact, alone, constitutes a major part of our dropout rate.
Lastly, we are an improved University. We put into place, almost three years ago, a revised curriculum which makes Lincoln a tougher place to graduate. We have confidence, as a Board, that the students will adjust to our "tougher" curriculum and make the suitable changes the students across the nation will endure.
I have every confidence that Lincoln will go up among our graduation rates, in spite of the fact that our students from Philadelphia will continue to be a constant burden. What is Lincoln to do? Not accept the studnts from Philadelphia. No,among them