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Graduation Rates and Student Success
Squaring Means and Ends |
Conclusion
The growing focus on the efficacy of the postsecondary student pipeline makes it clear that the graduation rate is here to stay as a higher education
outcome measure. In light of that reality and recent advances in research and technology regarding student enrollment and progression, the time has
come for a concerted effort to enhance and improve this measure. State colleges and universities must be prepared to play a leadership role in such
an effort, as they have much to gain from a fuller picture of student completion and much to lose from the continuation of an incomplete, simplistic
status quo.
At the same time, a national policy conversation about student success must not end with the graduation rate. As students approach higher education
institutions with an expanding array of degree and non-degree objectives, colleges and universities and their stakeholders must take a broader view
of what constitutes success in postsecondary education and consider appropriate metrics for measuring it. For example, the higher education community
must take a closer look at the learning outcomes of the college-educated population, not just at completion rates. With more and better information
about the paths students take toward their higher education goals and about the knowledge and skills they obtain along the way, cracks in the college
pipeline can be sealed, giving the United States a stronger competitive advantage in the unfolding knowledge-driven economy. |
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Resources |
AASCU, American Association of Community Colleges, and National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges Joint Committee
on Accountability Reporting (JCAR). JCAR’s primary objective was to develop reporting conventions for higher education accountability information
that would promote accurate comparisons among institutions. The JCAR Technical Conventions Manual provides a new conceptual framework and a uniform
methodology for measuring “student advancement,” a concept that includes, but is broader than, the current graduation rate.
aascu.org/pdf/jcar_technical.pdf
AASCU/Education Trust. AASCU teamed up with The Education Trust to produce Student Success in State Colleges and Universities: A Matter
of Leadership and Culture, an in-depth study of 12 public colleges and universities with higher than expected graduation rates. The study concluded
that institutional leadership and campus culture surrounding student success are essential variables in efforts to boost student completion.
aascu.org/GRO/docs.htm
Astin, Alexander W. “To Use Graduation Rates to Measure Excellence, You Have to Do Your Homework” (The Chronicle of Higher
Education, October 22, 2004) discusses why current graduation rate measures are misleading and presents a model for comparing actual to expected rates
that was developed at the University of California at Los Angeles’s Higher Education Research Institute.
chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i09/09b02001.htm (subscription required)
Education Trust. The Education Trust has developed a methodology for comparing an institution’s graduation rate with those of similar
institutions and for identifying high-performing institutions. Reports include: A Matter of Degrees: Improving Graduation Rates in Four-Year Colleges and
Universities (2004), Choosing to Improve: Voices of Colleges and Universities with Better Graduation Rates (2005), and One Step From the Finish Line: Higher
College Graduation Rates are Within Our Reach (2005). The Education Trust has created College Results Online, a tool that allows users to examine rates
by race/ethnicity and gender and to compare an institution’s graduation rate with those of similar institutions.
edtrust.org
Lumina Foundation for Education. Following the Mobile Student: Can We Develop the Capacity for a Comprehensive Database to Assess Student
Progression? (2003) describes the extent and characteristics of existing state unit record databases and explores the feasibility of linking them together
into a comprehensive network.
luminafoundation.org/publications/researchreports/NCHEMS.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In response to growing interest in more accurate measures of graduation rates and net price of
college, NCES initiated a study to examine the feasibility of implementing a national student unit record data system to replace parts of the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The report Feasibility of a Student Unit Record System Within the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
System (2005) outlines issues and challenges and concludes that such a system is feasible.
nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005160.pdf |
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