A recent study, released to the public today, found that while enrollment continues to increase at American colleges, the rates of graduation have remained very much the same over the past few years. This essentially means that while more students are attending college, less are graduating from the programs they enroll in.
Complete College America, a non-profit which focuses on increasing university graduation rates, conducted this study in order to show each state the breakdown of students who graduated from their respective college programs each year. The study was backed by major benefactors such as The Gates Foundation.
Why this drop in graduation rates? It could have to do with the economy and the expense of pursuing higher education. Researchers also note that there is a tendency for students to take more classes than are required for their major, also lending to longer periods before graduation.
“Time is the enemy of college completion,” the report said. “The longer it takes, the more life gets in the way of success.”
The report suggests ameliorating this nation-wide problem with block scheduling (where classes follow a predictable schedule and are taken with the same group of students seeking the same degree), as well as programs which highlight the usefulness of the class at hand in relation to a student’s major.