More information on the college drop-out crisis comes from a study just published by Complete College America: “Time is the Enemy: The surprising truth about why today’s college students aren’t graduating… And What Needs to Change.” Based on data from 33 states (including Virginia), the study finds that 75% of college students are juggling school, jobs and sometimes family, and that part-time students rarely graduate. On average, students are taking too many credits and taking longer than necessary to complete. And, for the most part, remediation courses are “broken.” They do not work.
Peter Blake, interim executive director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, put a positive spin on the data for the Times-Dispatch:
Virginia’s on-time graduation rate for a four-year degree was second among the 33 states, and the state ranked first for its six-year graduation rate. The state also did well with underrepresented populations in higher education. … Virginia was first in the six-year graduation rate for full-time Hispanic students, and second for both African-American students and for recipients of Pell Grants, which aid those with the most need.
View the state-by-state data, including Virginia’s, here.
While the Old Dominion may fare well by some measures, the trend lines are much the same as for other states. If there’s one easily digested bottom line from the study, it’s this: State systems of higher education need to focus less on enrollment and more on degree completions. At present, colleges and universities are rewarded for the number of students signed up for classes, not the number who graduate – much less the number who graduate on time. The result is excess public support for higher education and years (and money) wasted by the students. Virginia is no exception. The time for change is now!
— JAB
