Achieving the American dream of a college education is essential to obtaining meaningful employment in this ever-changing world. It is estimated that almost 63 percent of the jobs available in the near future will require some form of post-secondary education. And yet the number of high school graduates has declined over the last several years and will continue to decline until 2019. Furthermore, while the number of adult students returning to college has grown since the economic recession, most are doing so on a part-time basis.
Even as these demographic and enrollment trends hamper our ability to meet workforce demands in the short term, some doubt the value of higher education due to ever-rising tuition as total student loan volume reaches the trillion dollar mark. And, as the economy has declined and state purse strings have tightened, every penny that institutions of higher education receive is scrutinized by state legislators and the federal government, who are asking for a better return on their investment in the form of higher retention and graduation rates. This form of “report card” has caught on as a measuring tool of success in the eyes of those who control funding.
I believe that as the pool of students shrinks and money to finance education gets tighter, every institution of higher learning will be re-examining the way it does business. Financial concerns have caused institutions to look closely at rising tuition and fees and time to degree. Most institutions that receive state tax dollars and all those that receive monies for federal financial aid will be required to answer and defend two very important questions: How many students who start at your institution return? And of those that return, how many actually graduate?
The answers may very well influence whether a student enrolls at your institution and the amount of revenue your institution receives from state funding.
Retention
Retention seems like the simplest issue to tackle, considering that colleges and universities spend millions of dollars and significant staff hours each year recruiting high school students. But some time shortly after they arrive on campus, the recruitment process stops. In a business, however, you never stop recruiting your clients. These students are your clients. Losing on average 25 percent of your incoming clients should never be acceptable. While some students transfer, and for others, college wasn’t a good choice, consider the impact that dropping out has on those students’ and families’ moral and financial well-being, plus the overall loss to society in general.
It will take a lot of nurturing, imagination, and communication to bring about a change. How your institution handles this issue going forward may have a drastic effect on your campus’ stability and growth. But whose issue is retention? Everyone’s, from the chair of the board of trustees, to the administration, faculty, staff, and student leaders. No group on campus should be excluded from the conversation, and all must be on board if an institution is going to improve its retention rates.
Graduation Rates
Sometime between the time I graduated with my undergraduate degree in the late ’70s and today, it became the exception rather than the rule to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in four years; both federal and state education agencies tend to measure graduation rates in terms of degrees earned in six years. This trend rises from both institutional and student-driven factors, but it increases costs to all involved and delays graduates from entering the workforce. As the costs of obtaining an education escalate, there will be increasing pressure to rethink how educational attainment and productivity can be maximized. Requirements for degrees, time to completion, and delivery of education are just three areas that will have to be reexamined and refined.
Although simplistic in nature and not the full measure of an institution’s worth, the retention and graduation report card will continue to be used as a measuring stick of an institution’s success by prospective students, their parents, and legislators. Boards would be advised to pay attention.
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