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Diplomas and dropouts
This morning, the American Enterprise Institute released a new report from Frederick Hess, Mark Schneider, Kevin Carey, and Andrew P. Kelley concerning one of the most pressing problems in higher education today--our colleges' and universities' abysmal six-year graduation rates. Diplomas and Dropouts investigates the question of why some institutions graduate so few of their first-year, full-time students (some as low as eight percent in six years), even as other institutions with similar admissions criteria and academic programs have much better graduation rates. But as the authors themselves acknowledge, there are real limitations to the data and it is complicated to figure out just what factors influence graduation rates.
For example, the six-year graduation rates collected by the Department of Education are institutional rather than individual graduation rates, and thus do not differentiate between those students who drop out of school entirely or transfer to another institution. Likewise, the reasons why students leave a particular institution can vary considerably. For example, out of institutions designated "Most Competitive" for admissions, West Point and the Air Force Academy rank in the bottom ten of graduation rates. Yet one can surmise that the reasons for this placement would be very different than for others in the category, as the rigors and challenges of being a cadet are quite different than the typical experience of most students enrolled at, say, the University of Miami.
While it is not entirely clear which specific conditions contribute most to graduation or dropout rates, and even less clear how to improve them, Diplomas and Dropouts is a good starting point for those wishing to improve the quality and efficiency of our higher education system. And even more pertinent than degree attainment are the knowledge and skills imparted while students are enrolled at an institution of higher education. What they are learning, then, seems to be an equally important, if not more important question. ACTA will have a new publication on this very subject soon, so stay tuned!
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on June 03, 2009 at June 3, 2009 11:18 AM
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