Improving Graduation Rates Through Continuous Improvement

Recently, there have been several reports on graduation rates. One of these is the publication "The College Completion Agenda 2010 Progress Report"published by the College Board. It indicates that the percent of young adults  (age 25-34)who have earned an associate's degree or higher is 41.6%.  Compared to other countries, with this statistic,  the U.S. is  ranked 12th among 36 nations and Canada is ranked 1st. At one point in time the U.S. was ranked 1st and the goal is to be there again-- in order to continue to have a growth economy.  To a certain extent, the continuation of the current recession with the high unemployment rate around 10% is due to employers needing more-educated employees.  Not so long ago, a high school graduate could easily work at a good-paying job for the automotive industry.  Thus, the need for most employees to have earned at least an  associate's degree has occurred in a fairly short time period. 

 The Lumina Foundation has established that the U.S. must strive for a 60 percent attainment rate of an Associate Degree or higher of the current traditional- age college students population, 50% higher than it is today.

Both the College Board report and the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac Issue 2010-11 (published August 27, 2010)  indicate that in the past 10 years, despite all the conversations, that this percent has stayed at the same level. For example, the College Board report indicated that the percent of 25 to 34 year olds with an associate's degree or higher in 2008 was 41.6% compared to 38.1% in 2000, a 3.5% increase.   This is more evidence that the general population is just starting to address the need for a higher rate of college graduates.

In addition, according to the College Board report, only 67% of high school graduates enroll in a college immediately after high school. Of those that enroll, 28% need to take remedial classes, indicating a lack of preparation for college. In addition, students have a higher burden of financial aid due to the increase in tuition that is significantly above the inflation rate. According to the Chronicle report, the average debt for associate degree graduates is $10,000 and for bachelor's degree graduates is $20,000.  Among bachelor degree graduates only one-third have no debt and10% have a debt of $40,000 or more.

 If we are really striving for 60% of this population to have a college degree in 10-15 years, we need to be knowledgable about the characteristics of a student population especially as they enter their freshman year. My Veenstra Model for student success  provides nine factors for student success.  This model can provide a framework for an assessment, based on educational research. The  importance of these factors will vary from campus to campus.  Then  once there is  an assessment, strategies for a student-focused culture that encourages learning and student success must be implemented.  By continually re-evaluating the successes and failures of a strategy,  student retention and graduation rates will improve. By looking at the institution's goals, the leaders of the college can INNOVATE and  COLLABORATE both for the success of students and collaboration of the faculty and staff to engage students. Research has shown that faculty and staff engagement with students is extremely important.  In addition financial aid contributes to the overall picture of student success and policies for student financial aid must support continuous improvement in graduation rates.