Graduation Rates Over Time: Private Research Institutions – Students – The Chronicle of Higher Education

We compare here the graduation rates at four-year colleges for the six years ending in 2008 with the rates for the six years ending in 2003.

This is showing the six year graduation rate for four year colleges. This now the standard for evaluation purposes. It’s not for financial aid or scholarship purposes, though. So what is Harvard’s four year rate? According to the CollegeResults.org website, it’s 87.8% in 2008. Now this is still a pretty good rate but it does place them at the 17th spot in rankings. I know, all those darn engineers taking extra time to graduate. Right.

Shouldn’t there be truth in advertising?

the College Grid

After helping numerous students with their college applications, we noticed a lack of useful tools to help manage the school selection process. We decided to build a website with a “top-down” approach to researching colleges. Within a week, the College Grid was born.

It is improvement over the Princeton Review and US News and World Report in that it actually lets you sort on any of the variables. But the choice of variables!

The default sort is on the admissions rate. Obviously the creators are believers in that selectivity means better. But such a system does have its limitations. For example, select just for Texas schools and see what school shows up second with the default rating. And it even has a 99% acceptance yield! What a find! The problem is that is has a six year graduation rate of less than 20%. I’m sure that’s why there’s a column of SAT scores to give a heads-up that you might want to check into the value of the selectivity but still, is this really valuable?

The top five Texas schools in terms of four year graduation rates are ranked 1, 25, 15, 31, and 44 on the College Grid. Which is more important, selectivity or graduation rates? (They are ranked 1, 6, 2, 4, and 9 by SAT scores.)

The problem is that somebody out there doesn’t want your average college student ranking schools by graduate rates. (I’m not saying that graduation rates should be the only consideration but when your shelling out $40,000 a year, I would put it at the top of the list.) Most lists are now listing graduation rates as part of the school profile but the only place where you can actually select on it is at www.Collegeresults.org. Even the College Navigator, the website run by the federal government that actually collects the graduate rate data, doesn’t allow you to search on it.

So do potential students really not care about graduation rates or have they just been convinced that acceptance rates are actually a reflection of graduation rates?

College graduation rates, college rankings

Fiske Guide Blog

But as one undergrad quoted in the report explains, “I feel that we are too small and that increasing by 30 percent at least, if not more, would benefit us in so many ways, socially and academically. Many of my upper-level courses have 10 people or less, which limits me in choosing a study group, project partners, and in class participation.” I hate it when that happens. My bet is that we won’t be seeing this quote in the viewbook any time soon. Alas, the only thing that benefits from smallness is teaching and learning, an item far down on the list of priorities at most institutions.

My initial reaction to the student’s comment was “you’ve got to be kidding.” So that’s why UT Austin required a minimum of ten students in an undergraduate class for it to make.

After thinking about it some more, I realized how the student could have reached that point–but it is still a pathetic comment. I would guess that her lower division classes were between the 15 to 30 range with occasional big hall lectures. So she experienced an “ideal” class size that most have to wait until graduate school.

But what does that say about her ability to imagine what those “ideal” size classes will be like once they start expanding the number of students? What does it say about an institution and it’s graduates that believes the students would benefit more from a stronger “national” reputation than smaller classes?

Maybe the Rice graduates who feel like they are at a disadvantage when applying for jobs because no one knows what Rice is should consider applying to other less shallow sounding jobs. But given the comments in the report, it sounds like those are exactly the type of people Rice has been and will be recruiting.

Well, at the least students won’t have to make sure they’re prepared for their classes and will be able to select from a wide range of potential project partners after they have figured out their names.

Rice, reputation, rankings, colleges, class size

• Four Year Graduation Rate: 52.2%
• Median SAT: 1095
• $18,433 expenditures per student
• 78.4% Admitted
• 86% Students living on campus

Over a third of the students participate in nationally based sororities and fraternities. The importance of Greek life comes across in the Princeton Review’s student comments. And while the campus hasn’t reported any liquor or drug violations, drinking appears to be a major recreational focus. Randolph-Macon makes the Princeton Review’s top twenty lists in “Lots of Beer Parties,” “Major Frat and Sorority Scene Parties,” and “Party Schools Parties.” This where it would be nice to know more about how other schools ranked on these lists other than the top twenty. For all we know, it may be little different than number 50 or dramatically different than number 21. Having attended a school that regularly made the party school rankings, I know that it’s possible for such a label to have very little effect on your individual experience. However, given it’s small size, it’s something I would want to check out very carefully.

While student’s comments don’t say anything specifically about the academic rigor of the classes, the college states that “since 1920, when statistics were first kept, a higher percentage of Randolph-Macon graduates have gone on to earn PhDs than that of any independent college in the state of Virginia.” I suspect this is a school worth looking into if you are interested in a liberal arts education but don’t have the scores to get into one of the more selective schools. I would just be wary of it’s drinking reputation.

R-MC :: What is the First-Year Experience?

As a new student, you’ll explore these kinds of connections through your First-Year Experience (FYE). You’ll join a small group of other students and two professors from different disciplines for a yearlong exploration of a topic in a challenging and interesting set of FYE classes. Outside the classroom, you’ll attend co-curricular events such as plays and public lectures designed to deepen your understanding of the topic. The work will culminate in an interdisciplinary analysis that might take the form of a written report, a video production, or a work of art. And through FYE you’ll make solid connections with those who share your exploration, including the faculty members, one of whom will serve as your academic advisor.

FYE Topics

The Drug Trade
Disciplines: Chemistry and Sociology

What is Life?
Disciplines: Biology and Computer Science

Biopolitics
Disciplines: Biology, Political Science

Wine, Science, and Society
Disciplines: Literature, Chemistry

In God’s Good Time
Disciplines: Religious Studies, Physics

Why R-MC: Undergraduate Research?

Randolph-Macon College views students as colleagues through their summer research opportunities that take them out of the classroom for a total summer immersion program.

Like professional scientists and scholars, Randolph-Macon students have to apply to the SURF program by writing a proposal and request for grant money to fund their research. If their project is accepted, they receive a stipend of $3,000 and free housing. In addition, funds are available for supplies and travel.

Technorati Tags: Randolph-Macon College, College Rankings, College Search, Liberal Arts Colleges

The New 2008 “Best 366 Colleges” Rankings on The Princeton Review

We’ve created 62 rankings lists across 8 categories, based on feedback from more than 120,000 students across the nation. Enjoy!

I don’t know how statistically valid these lists are or what actually separates the number one school from the number 20 school from the number 100 school. But if there is anything to these lists at all, you’ve got to wonder what’s the attraction of the super selective schools in the country. If a school makes the top twenty “Toughest to Get Into,” you would think they would make multiple appearances on the various education quality lists. Not necessarily so.

The other “education quality lists” I’m talking about are:

• Professors Get High Marks

• Their Students Never Stop Studying

• Professors Make Themselves Accessible

• Class Discussions Encouraged

• Students Happy with Financial Aid

• Schools Runs Like Butter

• Best Classroom Experience

• Happiest Students

• Best Quality of Life

Six of the toughest schools to get into don’t make it onto any of the lists: Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Dartmouth College, Cooper Union, and Georgetown. Harvard, MIT, Yale, and Brown only make it onto one additional list. The schools that appear the most on the other lists are Middlebury College, five categories, and Princeton, Stanford, and Pomona in four categories.

So which schools appeared in the most categories? Thomas Aquinas College and Wabash with seven appearances each. Not exactly household names. Hendrix and Ursinus College make the Best Classroom Experience. Simon’s Rock College of Bard, Centre College, and Sewanee-University of the South are in the “Professors Get High Marks” category. A total of 87 colleges appear on these nine lists. That’s a lot more than the 20 “Toughest to Get Into.” Of course, many of these colleges could be ranked in the top 30 or 40 on the “Toughest to Get Into” so it may not be that big of a deal. But without any way to judge the difference between those on the list and those that didn’t make it, it’s hard to reach a conclusion about the value of the top twenty.

I understand why the Princeton Review didn’t want to rank all 366 colleges on the list. Any college that appears at the bottom of the list would unfairly receive a “negative” rating even if there really isn’t that much difference between those at the top and those at the bottom. However, if you’re going to evaluate colleges based on their placement on these lists, it seems to me that you should seriously be considering factors other than just selectivity when looking for a quality college.

Technorati Tags: College Admissions, College Rankings, College Selectivity, Princeton Review

I love Albion’s “Prospective Student” page. It starts with “do you believe that your first 18 years of life can be accurately and completely reflected in one admissions applications?” Well, of course not which is why you should visit Albion. Like most small, liberal arts colleges, it’s faculty gets high marks for quality and interaction. It appears to have some interesting academic programs and has a high percentage of students going to graduate school or med school after graduation.

The Princeton Review has Albion ranked as number ten in terms of Least Happy Students which may have something to do with being number seven in More to Do on Campus. If the students are as sheltered suburbanites as suggested, it could explain why they might not find the small town of Albion very entertaining. About a third of students are part of the Greek community and comments on StudentsReview suggest that the campus is very clique-ish. Given the nature of small schools, it’s probably a good idea to make sure Albion’s social scene will work for you.

• Four Year Graduation Rate: 66.9%
• Median SAT: 1125
• 15,035 expenditures per student
• 81.9% Admitted
• Princeton Review reports 38% going to graduate school and 15% to medical school
• US News and World Reports lists an endowment of $174,464,242

The Good:

There appears to be a lot of social activities on campus and there is very little on campus crime reported. The college has made a commitment to academic excellence in its First Year Program and numerous academic opportunities.

Entertainment

The Coffee House is a nonprofit student organization which provides Albion College and the Albion community with social space in the hopes of fostering greater social and intellectual exchange. The Coffee House serves the entire gamut of Coffee House fare–espresso, cappuccino, hot chocolate, mochas, soda, etc.–and provides frequent entertainment and lively discussion. Furthermore, the Coffee House provides student volunteers with the opportunity to manage a small business first hand.

Albion College First-Year Experience

William Atwell Brown, Jr., and Mary Brown Vacin First-Year Experience (FYE)

The FYE program will enable you to make a smooth and positive transition to Albion College. Through the program you will be introduced to the liberal arts tradition and the rigors of academic excellence. The FYE program will help you establish habits of mind and patterns of decision-making that will ensure achieving optimal success throughout your four years here. We think you’ll find the First-Year Experience will meet you where you are and take you where you want to go.

Albion College First-Year Experience

Digital Portfolios

Your Digital Portfolio, which provides a detailed summary highlighting your academic and extracurricular experiences.

Albion College Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA) was established to promote and support student research, original scholarship and creative efforts in all disciplines. Through a number of programs, taking place at all points in a student’s career at Albion, FURSCA can help students pursue independent study in their areas of interest. Students work closely with a faculty mentor to develop and carry out research or other creative projects

Flags:

Albion’s budget cuts are coming after being highlighted by the Wall Street Journal for it’s questionable statistics in alumni donations.

Trustees propose budget cut

At 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12, a meeting was held between faculty committee chairs and Board of Trustee members to discuss a recent proposal by the board to cut four tenure-track faculty members to help reduce the college’s deficit.

…

Next year, the school will assume additional operating expenses of about $1.2 million. VanAken said that the largest piece of this is $850,000 in depreciation for the science complex. To help make up for these new expenses, VanAken and the administration have the goal of recruiting 525 first-year students, 45 more than this year’s 480. The extra students would increase the college’s enrollment closer to last year’s 1,950 students. Looking at enrollment a few years ahead, the college will need to recruit classes to replace the class of 2008 that came in with 559 students and the class of 2009 that came in with 571 students, an important thing to be noted, according to VanAken.

WSJ.com

Albion

College, 90 miles west of Detroit in Albion, Mich., used this tactic to increase its alumni giving rate beginning in 2003, when it reaped an artificial increase of 1.4 percentage points, to 51.6%. The college boasted of the rate in a grant application; ultimately, it was awarded the $4.65 million in funds. Albion President Peter Mitchell says the school stopped using this method for the class of 2007 and that the giving rate was just “one arrow in the quiver” for the grant.

Albion stats called into question

On March 2, Albion received attention on the national level, serving as the featured school in a “Wall Street Journal” article. Many students and faculty were dismayed to find, however, the attention was not positive.The article, entitled “To Boost Donor Numbers, Colleges Adopt New Tricks,” addressed how several colleges calculate their alumni-giving rate. Albion was used to illustrate all of the practices called into question in the article, which included limited effort to find alumni that do not have current contact information on file and the practice of considering senior gifts as multi-year donations.

I also have some concerns about the strength of its liberal arts program. I know that Albion has several programs that are design to integrate the liberal arts into management, medicine, and administration but given its five most popular majors, I would look into the emphasis of the academic programs very carefully.

USNews.com: America’s Best Colleges 2008: Albion College: Academics

Albion: 20% economics, 13% biology/biological sciences, 12% psychology, 11% English language and literature, 10% history

St. Olaf: 11% biology/biological sciences, 8% English language and literature, 6% economics, 6% mathematics, 6% psychology

College of Wooster: 10% history, 9% psychology, 8% English language and literature, 8% communication studies/speech communication and rhetoric, 8% political science and government

Kalamazoo: 24% social sciences, 13% psychology, 10% English language and literature/letters, 9% biological and biomedical sciences, 9% physical sciences

Wabash: 14% history, 13% psychology, 12% English language and literature, 11% philosophy and religious studies, 10% biology/biological sciences

College Navigator – Albion College

Majors in Business, management, marketing, and related support services 41%

Yale Plans to Increase Spending From Its Endowment – New York Times

Facing pressure from Congress and some donors to use more of its multibillion-dollar investment gains, Yale University announced Monday that it would increase the amount of money it spent from its endowment next year by nearly 40 percent.

Because otherwise, they might be required to spend five percent of it’s endowment like other foundations. But for some reason, colleges think that they need more flexibility than other non-profits.

Yale Plans to Increase Spending From Its Endowment – New York Times

Dr. Levin said universities should be allowed to determine how much of their long-term assets it would be prudent to spend. “You wouldn’t want to mandate a spending rate,” he said.

And other foundations shouldn’t be allowed that freedom because…?

Technorati Tags: College endowments, College finance, Yale,

Gustavus Adolphus College is a liberal arts college in Minnesota with a relatively high graduation rate, high admittance rate, and a large endowment. I didn’t see anything especially compelling about the school from available public information. My overall impression, which could be totally wrong, is a school that provides lots of individual attention to students but that the students aren’t necessarily challenged and haven’t really come together as a community.

• 72% graduation rate
• Median SAT 1165
• $16,250 Student Related Expenditures per FTE
• 60.5% degrees awarded in Arts and Sciences
• 79.7% Admitted
• Princeton Review reports 35% attending graduate school
• US News College Rankings report an endowment of over 96 million dollars and an alumni giving rate of 31%

Gustavus Adolphus – Why Choose Gustavus?

Gustavus is known for its academic quality. It’s the most important feature of a college—you are, after all, going to college for your education. You can measure Gustavus’ academic quality many ways: faculty credentials, curriculum options, average class size, graduation outcomes, hosting a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, and more.

Notable Programs

Curriculum II – Academics – Gustavus Adolphus College

Curriculum II, which is limited to sixty students, is an integrated sequence of courses focused on the development of the Western tradition with comparisons to non-Western cultures, the examination of values, and the theme of the individual and community. Retreats and trips to the Twin Cities for cultural events also foster a sense of community within the group.

Flags

• Only 3.1 % under-represented minorities (what do you expect, it’s Minnesota)
• The Princeton Reviews’ Student Says section states that apparently the school has a reputation for drinking and the administration is cracking down on it. This could explain the relatively high number of liquor law violations reported on campus in the College Navigator. This doesn’t necessarily mean that students drink more on the Gustavus Adolphus campus than others; it could mean that the administration is trying to do something about it as oppose to others.
• Comments at Student Reviews suggest some serious problems with it’s residential department.

Selections from the campus newspaper, The Gustavian Weekly

On diversity:

Is Gustavus a college for Lutherans or a college for all | Gustavian Weekly

Though the religious make-up of the college remains primarily Lutheran, the Gustavus community is experiencing a great deal of change, facilitated by its Lutheran background.

“The college’s attitude— which is long standing— is an openness to religious diversity. While we will be, for the foreseeable future, focused on our Lutheran traditions, the Lutheran tradition of higher education is inclusive of other religions,” said President Peterson.

Even though the college officially welcomes all, there is still work to be done.

Diversity appears to be on the campus radar.

Study abroad:

Study abroad program put to the test | Gustavian Weekly

This year, the way students pay for study abroad programs has changed. Students are now paying more to study abroad, which has lead to some criticism. Previously, students studying abroad simply paid Gustavus tuition. This year, however, students must pay Gustavus tuition and a program fee that varies with each program.

The previous system had inherent problems, said Pat Quade, Interim Director of International Education at Gustavus.

“Students were paying Gustavus tuition, and most of that went with them to the program. The fallacy with that is that the college doesn’t close when a student goes off campus. The budget is predicated on [a set] number of students paying tuition and the college was sending all of that tuition away for a number of students, which meant that there was not enough money left to cover the maintenance of the college, to pay staff and faculty,” said Quade. “We had to change. The other options weren’t very good: close the college or limit the number of students.”

Given the rate of alumni giving, decent but not great endowment, and above average student expentitures, you have to wonder about priorities and financial management.

On college rankings

Gustavus left unranked | Gustavian Weekly

For many prospective students, this can lead to some confusion on how to decide which school to attend. In order to help prospective students make this difficult decision, various organizations release college rankings every year. Gustavus usually places very well in these rankings. However, one of the largest of these, U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking, left Gustavus unranked due to an error by the college.

Given that a growing number of liberal arts colleges are refusing to participate in the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings, I wonder about the student’s commitment to the liberal arts ideal over it’s reputation.

Technorati Tags: Gustavus Adolphus College, college rankings, liberal arts colleges, college search

So why bother? Why not just let him reach the point on his own and start looking himself? One, the way the college application process works now at days means that waiting may also close off opportunities you waited too long to find out about.

Two, after spending a lot of time on a homeschool to college yahoo group and wondering why everyone elses kids seem to care and mine doesn’t, someone pointed out that it seems to be more boys in the “don’t care” category. The group consensus was that boys generally take longer to mature and this is one area in which it shows. (I hope anyway)

Three, if I go from the premise that he’s not really a self-starter, then I had better find a college where he won’t get lost in the crowd.

Four, we aren’t going to qualify for any need aid and while my son isn’t a self-starter, he’s smart enough to qualify for some merit aid somewhere. I just need to figure out somewhere.

So how do you start looking? I’ve read the Colleges that Change Lives and looked at the Princeton Review top 20 lists and it’s a start. But there are over 1500 schools out there and that only scratches the surface.

I’ll tell you my current, evolving method. I start out at www.collegeresults.org. I do an institutional search for the following:

Size: 750-2500 (I think he’s going to need to be in a small school where people care if he shows up to class)

Student Related Expenditures per FTE: greater than $15,000. The most spent per student at any state school in Texas is less than $12,000. There are only 25 public schools nationally that spend more than $15,000 per student. There are 290 private schools that do. I figure if I’m going to shell out tuition for a private school, I want to see some of the money spent on the students whether on student organizations, dorms, athletic facilities (the one thing he does care about) or classrooms.

Graduation Rate: Ideally, it should be over 70%. However, I’m currently working with a search between 50% and 70%. This generally lowers the requirements for qualifying for full tuition scholarships at the school. If he can get a scholarship and in their honors program with less than a 1200 SAT, I’ll take the chance.

After I generate my list, I then plug the school in the Princeton Review’s website for more info on it’s acceptance rate, percentage of students living on campus, percentage going to graduate school, and does it have baseball and football (because that’s important to my son, it may not be important to yours).

Then I hit the school’s website to look for information on it’s history department, (if ds can’t be general manager of a pro football team, he wants to be a history professor), scholarships, and honors program.

And that’s how I cam across Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. The fact that it doesn’t have a football team is made up by it’s Honor Scholarship program. 1150 is worth a look.

Wesson Honors and Presidential Scholarships

Wesson Honors Scholarship Students with a 3.5 GPA and 1150 SAT (combined critical reading and math sections)/25 ACT score are eligible for the Wesson Honors Scholarship. This $12,000 scholarship includes direct admission into the Wesson Honors Program. It is renewable annually for four years of study dependent upon good academic standing in the Wesson Honors Program.

I’m not sure about the history department since it’s history department is actually “History, Society and Culture” which they do a nice job of explaining. It doesn’t seem particularly strong in the Civil War but okay in modern European history. On the plus side, it has developed an “Apprentice Historian Project.”

Other notables about the school is it’s co-curricular transcript, Pathway program, and use of portfolios.

I’m not sure I want ds in New Hampshire; I’m not sure he would even want to go. But it’s saved to the Princeton Review profile and on my “watch” list. It seems a promising alternative for someone who is not going to make into UT under the top 10 percent rule.

Technorati Tags: Colby-Sawyer College, college search, top ten percent, Ivy alternatives, college admissions

BACK TO SCHOOL….U.S. News & World Report publishes its university rankings every year, and every year people complain about them. So starting in 2005 we decided to do more than just complain, and instead came out with our own rankings — based not on reputation or endowment size, but rather on how much of a contribution each university actually makes to the country. This year’s #1 school? Texas A&M.

Maybe the fact that Texas A&M comes in first in the Washington Monthly rankings as opposed to 62nd in the U.S. News & World Report rankings will get the attention of some Texans. UT Austin moved up to 19th in the Washington Monthly over it’s 44th place in the U.S. News ranking. Take a look, it’s definitely a different way of evaluating what constitutes a “good” school.

Technorati Tags: Washington Monthly, College Rankings, US News and World Report, education bench marks