Academic Performance of College Students

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Pub encounter 06/01/2007 Publication NameCollege assimilatorJournal PublisherProject first appearance(Alabama) AudienceAcademic FormatMagazine/Journal Subject nurture secureCOPYRIGHT2007ProjectInnovation(Alabama) ISSN0146-3934 IssueDateJune, 2007 sourset Volume41 Source Issue2 Topic CanadianSubjectForm teach counselling Product Product codeE197500 Students, College Geographic GeographicScope northwestward Carolina GeographicCode1U5NC north roughly Carolina Ads by Google Ch correcting English Test Sit Your PTE Academic Test this instant Easy Sign Up & Results In 5 Days Pearsonpte. com/Chevening bring into being a Doctor in the US Study at inshore Campus, Practise Medicine in the U. S. Apply Today www. AUAMed. org Harvest tungsten Christian Leadership Training Certificate, Diploma and Degree www. harvestwest. edu. au Online MBA physique at LSBF UK Global MBA degree, 100% online.Choose MBA specialisation now www. LSBF. org. uk/MBA-Online Learn financial Modeling Step-by-Step, Self Study & Classes Buld DCF, LBO, M&A, Comps Models www. Wall passagePrep. com Accession Number 163679000 plenteous Text The questiness of open underpinground and/or preparation, among wise(prenominal) things, causes some a(prenominal) a(prenominal) an(prenominal) scholars to withdraw from college or to alumnus with crushed castes, which often come acrosss it difficult for them to cede suitable wrinkles. This paper examines the staff member implementation and efforts to strain assistant for faculty memberianian and related problems of under alumna trail-age childs at nonh Carolina A&T kingdom University.To that effect, the spirit level reports of calling and economics major(ip)s and responses to a regard of students enrolled in agate line and economics courses were qualitatively analyzed. The results of the analyses indicated that many students experienced donnishianian lack and did non proposek chokeer when faced with problems. The results withal finded that many of the students who want assistant rated the services they authorized as in impelling and indicated their preference for take-level s egresssetness services.The festering of a school-specific schoolman observe and calculation center would mitigate these problems. Such a center, with a comprehensive and extended advisement and focusing program, pass on be to a hugeer extent effective than university-wide services in upward(a) student pedantic performance and marketability upon starting time. ********** Teaching, tint into and service be ordinarily use as a yardstick to mea sure as shooting faculty contri thations to higher(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) breeding insertions. Major universities amaze long separate outed the importance of research activities coition to teaching.Over the last two decades, many of brokener teaching institutions, including the historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) where research activities were humpd only to the extent that they would keep educators and the familiarity they transmit to students current, encounter been under pressure to acquire external notes for scholarships, faculty development, and meeting accreditation standards (Fielding 1985). As these institutions, particularly the HBCUs, placed a lot ferocity on faculty research productivity, they atomic good turn 18 faced with the challenge of bang a balance among teaching and research activities.Nevertheless, most colleges and universities recognize that teaching is the ultimate goal of their institutions (Wiley 1993). T he master(prenominal) factors considered for astir(p) teaching force among another(prenominal) things, include teaching approaches and techniques and faculty availability for student religious serviceer and advisement. However, students in higher teaching institutions must be motivated and commit to make reasonable efforts toward handling various activities, such as exacting, create verbally assignments, class discussion, presentation and examinations, effectively.Accordingly, the students commitment to attain a good education, their battlefield habits and cooperation, their motivation and efforts to seek assistance, when necessitate, argon equally critical for education. Thus, since the provision and breathing in of education service occur simultaneously, the students active participation in the fulfill is a necessary condition to transform teaching to effective culture (Norales and Addus 2003). This paper assesses the pedantic performance and efforts of undergra duate students to seek assistance for academic and related problems at North Carolina A&T pass on.The paper (1) examines the academic performance and deficiencies of the students in terms of their all overall grade forecast ordinarys (2) identifies the relative magnitude of student academic and related problems from freshman to senior classifications (3) presents student evaluation of the effectiveness of advisement and advocate services available to students and (4) recommends the development of a school-specific academic observe and advisement center to make better student academic performance and marketability upon gradation.Methods and Instrumentation The 1998 grade check averages (grade point averages) of undergraduate duty and economics majors were used to determine the levels of student academic performance and deficiencies, with the application of chi-squ ar statistic test to the relevant entropy. The student grade reports (the most new-fangled data available) we re obtained from the North Carolina A&T State Universitys School of phone line and economics. In addition, data from students were collected through a student contemplate of 2002.The sample for the student advisement and guidance effectiveness questionnaire consisted of students enrolled in business and economics courses at North Carolina A State University. The questionnaire items were designed to displace responses from students to determine the magnitude of student academic and related problems, efforts to seek assistance to solve their problems, evaluation of effectiveness assistance they received, and preference for the location of advising and monitoring services within the University.The results of this study faeces be used as a source of data that push aside proffer information on the curriculum effectiveness at North Carolina A State and other universities. Such data can assist educators in curriculum prep and development so that they can bettor meet the needs of students. Student Academic Performance and Survey Results The results of this study ar establish on the examination of the School of Business and Economics student GPAs and the student advisement and hash out survey of students enrolled in business and economics courses at North Carolina A State University.The results atomic number 18 centered around (1) the student academic performance levels and deficiencies (2) the magnitude of student academic and related problems (3) the students efforts to seek assistance to solve problems (4) the student evaluation of effectiveness assistance received and (5) the student preference for the location of advising and monitoring services. The following ar the mentionings of the study represent on student grade point averages and student advisement and counseling services questionnaire responses. Student Academic performanceThe school of Business and Economics at North Carolina A State University consists of accounting, business administr ation, business education and economics and transportation/logistics departments. The distributions of grade point average of students enrolled in the School during the 1998 dusk semester are presented in prorogue 1. For the data in the Table, the chi-square test statistic is significant. This indicates that grade distributions by classification are statistically contrastive. Generally, the number of students with low grade point averages decreased from freshman to senior classifications.In other words, much freshmen hold glare grades relative to seniors, and more(prenominal)(prenominal) seniors kept up(p) higher grade point averages than freshmen. much specifically, the data indicates that, in the School of Business and Economics, 55% of freshman, 14% of sophomore, 16% of junior-grade, and 6% of senior students maintained under 2. 00 grade point averages. The decline in the proportion of students with lower grades from the freshman to senior levels is an attribute of either grade improvements, transfer from one program to another or withdrawal and/or suspension/dismissal from the university.In their senior year, 41% of students maintained a GPA of below 2. 50, 23% below 2. 25, and 6% below 2. 00. For all classifications, 53% of students maintained a GPA of below 2. 50, 39% below 2. 25, and 26% below 2. 00. The School of Business and Economics cannot apply to ignore 23% students who may graduate with a GPA of lower than 2. 25 and 41% below 2. 50, only to find it difficult to find professional jobs of their choice in their individual fields.Apparently, students need to be monitored, promote and assisted to play an active role in their pursuit to achieve their education and career objectives. Student Survey Results Of some 206 students who responded to the survey, 52% were womanish and 48% were male students. By classification, 10% were freshmen, 30% sophomore, 37% junior and 23% senior students. In terms of general fields of study, 68% majored in business and economics and 32% in other areas, including liberal arts and sciences, education and engineering (Table 2).These figures intimate that the survey represents a balanced reportage on gender, student classification, and various fields of study. Magnitude of Student Academic and Related Problems Of 154 who sought assistance, 52% were female and 48% were male students. By classification, 9% were freshmen, 30% sophomore, 37% junior and 25% were senior students (Table 3). The data in the Table is indicative of the fact that the number of problems faced by students generally declined from freshman to senior year of their study.Of 52 students who did not seek assistance, 52% were female and 48% were male students. By classification, 17% were freshmen, 30% junior, 37% sophomore and 19% senior students. A total of 56% who did not seek help were junior and senior students. The reasons indicated for not seeking assistance are that 19% did not view any problems, 17% did not hav e clock date to seek assistance, 19% did not cope the availability of assistance, 14% did not believe such assistance would be useful, and 15% indicated a combination of the above factors (Table 4).Student Efforts to attempt Assistance bulge of 206 students who sought assistance, 60% consulted with their academic advisors and 30% with course instructors or respective departments. nevertheless 4% indicated to have sought assistance with the University Center for triumph (Table 5). Student Evaluation of Assistance Effectiveness Of 154 students who sought help, 72% indicated that the assistance they were offered was effective resulting in grade improvements, kick upstairsd self- self-assertion, remaining in major for the better, and ever-changing major for the better.However, 28% indicated that the assistance they received was not effective at all (Table 6). Student Preference for Advising and Monitoring Services Of 206 survey respondents, 147 (71%) indicated their preference f or student monitoring and counseling services at school/college level (as opposed to counseling at the university level) and 92% indicated that they would seek assistance more often if such services were available at school/college level (Table 7).The Case for Academic Monitoring and Advising Center The findings of this study reveal that relatively low grades and high adversity place were maintained by upper level undergraduate students with the possibility of marketability problems. The findings further show that 28% of survey respondents s embolden the assistance services they received were not effective. another(prenominal) 28% of the respondents, of which 56% were juniors and seniors, did not seek help to resolve their academic and related problems.In addition, 71% of respondents indicated their preference for a school-level assistance services, and the overwhelming mass (92%) said they would seek help more often if such services were available at the school level. It follows that a school-specific academic monitoring and advisement center (AMAC), with a comprehensive devote of business for student advisement and counseling, bequeath be effective in improving student academic performance and marketability.The need for the AMAC is unders cored by other studies. The main problems discovering student academic performance include unsatisfactory background, liveing long hours, lack of eon to study and seek advice, lack of time steering skills, bad study habits and skills, and lack of self-confidence. Many students are too faced with various impediments in their pursuit of higher education and career objectives, including financial problems, family responsibilities, and social and extramarital activities.Some of these activities do not only take away from the time needed for sleeping, attending class and studying, but they also cause considerable stress resulting in negative effects on academic performance as measured in terms of GPA (Womble 2001). T he results of a survey of 239 university students enrolled in business and economics courses at North Carolina A State University indicated that most students did not have sufficient time to read the text take hold and study, and that their absence seizure from class was employment related.The majority (56 %) of the students stated that they could not take tantalise notes while enumerateening, and 29 % said they could not picture the scold (Norales and Addus 2003). Kelly et al (2001) classified college students into small sleepers (individuals who slept six or fewer hours a day), average sleepers (individuals with seven or hours of sleep a day), and long sleepers (individuals sleeping social club or more hours a day). They found that the individuals who represented long sleepers account higher GPAs than the first two groups.Many students are admitted to a university as a result of their performance in examinations that do not demand the corresponding preparation levels requ ired to succeed in higher education. Thus, one of the main factors affecting the academic performance of college and university students is the lack of adequate preparation skills (Beswick and Ramsden 1987). Entwistle et al (1989) studied the academic performance of electrical engineering students and found that low course grades were associated with inadequate study skills, and that many students had not established adequate independent study strategies required to succeed in higher education.Eikeland & till (1992) looked into factors affecting student achievement, especially those factors related to high failure and dropout rates. The findings showed that make study habits had a positive impact on self confidence during the students first semester, but such study habits did not have a direct effect on grades until as late as their one-fourth semester in college. In a survey of close to 350,000 students attending four-year human beings and private colleges, over 70 items relate d to the students educational experiences on the survey instrument were grouped into 12 factors. 1) The survey results indicated that out of these factors, creation college/university students rated academic advising as the most central aspect of their educational experiences. Private college/university students rated academic advising second to only instructional effectiveness in importance. When students were asked to rate fin items (2) comprised academic advising, both public and private college/university students rated the academic advisors approachability and the academic advisors knowledge near major requirements as strengthsmeaning most important and most satisfying (Noel-Levitz 2003).In general, the success or failure in higher education are not explained by the student attributes or faculty teaching efficiency in isolation, but by the complex interactions in the midst of students and the learning environments they experience (Entwistle 1990). Thus, students are in nee d of comprehensive advisement, counseling and support services including time management, stress management, efficient study style, habits and skills, reading, writing, and lecture note taking skills, and other support services.These must help students enhance their capacity to master the relevant subject, self confidence, verbal and written communication, academic performance, and to be competitive and productive members of the community. Academic Monitoring and Advising Center The findings of this study, on with the discussion of relevant literature, elicit that a school-specific AMAC, with a comprehensive agenda for student advisement and counseling, will be effective in improving student academic performance and marketability.The primary purpose of the AMAC is to enhance student academic performance and produce marketable graduates by providing extended assistance and guidance to students in academic activities and related areas. At North Carolina A State University in that l ocation are university-wide student support services, including the Center for Student Success (which is focused on student storage) and school-level academic assistant services. In addition, there are programs which are designed to mentor students with high academic standing, in collaboration with potential employers, to prepare them for the real world puzzle out environment upon graduation.However, many students who for various reasons fail to perform to their potential levels deserve to be uplifted through a similar program proposed by the AMAC. Compared with university-wide academic counseling services available for students, the AMAC will be more effective for needy students can be given individual and droll attention suited to their specific needs by their respective schools. In addition to regular advisement provided by academic advisors, the AMAC will provide counseling services for students who fail to reach a minimum GPA of 2. 0 during each semester. To start with, suc h students will be able to discuss issues regarding specific courses and their course loads with an advisor from the AMAC, and receive advice on how to successfully manage their time and handle their course loads. Also, the AMAC if necessary, can suggest changes in course, course loads and schedule to help the students balance their time between school and work. As mentioned above, one of the biggest problems that many students have is lack of time and time management skills.If this problem is solved early, students will be able to maintain a more marketable GPA. The AMAC will interminably monitor students and evaluate their grades throughout each semester to insure that these students continue to do well in the school, and graduate within a reasonable rate of flow of time. Students who need assistance must be identified at the seize time and be given intensive advice and counseling. It will maintain a data base for all students in the School of Business and Economics with an ove rall GPA of 2. 0 or less. The data can be collected from student applications, academic records, and surveys (Seidman, 1996). The AMAC will coordinate its activities with university programs designed to provide remedial services to students with deficient backgrounds. It will refer students to other departments and and University support services for problems outside its responsibilities. Such intensive discourse will in all probability help not only improve academic performance, but also retain students and enable them to graduate with decent grades.Student participation in the AMACs program shall enhance their capabilities to improve their academic standing through sound advice and counseling which will positively influence their perspective toward learning and grades, time management skills and study habits. The AMAC will further facilitate development of university policies and programs designed to control academic deficiencies and encourage students to stay in school and ac hieve their academic and career objectives.Conclusions Academic advising is a very important aspect of students educational experiences in higher education. In order to enhance teaching and learning effectiveness, higher education institutions must listen to their students unique needs and priorities by assessing assistance services available to students. The results of such assessments can be used to develop targeted action plans for serving specific student population.The results of the analyses of data obtained from the School of Business and Economics grade reports and a survey of students enrolled in business and economics courses at North Carolina A State University, along with other relevant literature, imply that many college students need a school-specific academic monitoring and advisement services at an early stage of their college career. It is apparent that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for junior and senior students to make meaningful grade improvements due to the short span of time available to them during their last years of study before graduation.This may pose a serious marketability problem for some of the graduates of these programs with low grades. In the real world of ever increasing globalization and more competitive job market environments, college students need to acquire higher skills and GPAs. The proposed AMAC is certainly a first step to guide needy students in this direction. References Beswick, D. and Ramsden, P, (1987). How to instigate study with Understanding. Working Paper 871. Melbourne Center for the Study of higher(prenominal) program line, University of Melbourne. Eikeland, O. J. and Manger, T. (1992).why Students Fail During Their First University Semesters. International Review of Education 38(5), 489-503. Entwistle, N. J. (1990). How Students Learn and Why They Fail. Paper Presented at Conference on Talent and Teaching, University of Bergen. Entwistle, N. J. , Hoursell, D. , Macaulay, C. , Situnayake, G. and Tait, H. (1989). Success and distress in Electrical Engineering Courses in Scotland. Summary of a composing to the SED. Edinburgh Department of Education and Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. University of Edinburgh. Fielding, G. J. (1985). Transportation Education, Part Two.Report of control stick Conference, Eno Foundation Board of Directors and Board of Consultants. Transportation Quarterly, 39(2), 207-233. Kelly, W. E. , Kelly, K. E. and Clanton, R. C. (others) (2001). The Relationship between catnap length and Grade-Point-Average among College Students, College Student Journal. Noel-Levitz Research (2003). Academic Advising Highly Important to Students, www. noellevitz. com. Norales, Francisca O. and Addus, Abdussalam A. (2003). University Students Learning Efforts, Texas Business and Technology Educators Association Journal, Vol.VII, No. 1. Seidman, A. (1996). Retention revisited R = E, ID + E & In, Iv. Journal of College Student Retention. 71(4), 18-20. W iley, III, Ed (1993). Re-Emphasizing Teaching. Black Issues in Higher Education. Womble, Laura P (2001). The Impact of Stress Factors on College Students Academic Performance, Working Paper, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, N. C. ABDUSSALAM A. ADDUS colligate Professor DAVID CHEN Associate Professor ANWAR S. KHAN Professor old Department of Economics and Transportation/Logistics North Carolina A State University Notes 1) the factors are academic advising, campus climate, campus Life, campus Support Services, use up for the Individual, instructional Effectiveness, recruitment and financial aid effectiveness, registration effectiveness, responsiveness to diverse population, safety and security, service excellence, and student centeredness. (2) the items are the academic advisors approachability, the academic advisors knowledge about major requirements, the academic advisors concern about the students success as an individual, the academic advisors assistance to set goals an d work toward, and the clearness and reasonableness of major requirements.Table 1 Grade Distribution of Students in the School of Business and Economics by mixed bag, Fall 1998 Grade vomit Classification fledgling Sophomore next-to-last No. % No. % No. % 3. 50-4. 00 20 6 46 19 20 10 3. 00-3. 49 26 7 44 18 32 16 2. 50-2. 99 45 13 62 25 45 23 2. 25-2. 49 33 9 33 13 33 17 2. 00-2. 24 37 10 28 11 34 18 under 2. 00 200 55 35 14 31 16 agree 361 100 248 100 195 100 Chi-square 278. 38 * Grade Range Classification Senior all told No. % No. % 3. 50-4. 00 18 7 104 10 3. 00-3. 49 42 17 144 13 2. 50-2. 99 90 35 242 24 2. 25-2. 49 47 18 146 14 2. 00-2. 24 44 17 143 13 Below 2. 00 14 6 280 26 add 255 100 1059 100 Chi-square 278. 38 * Note * Statistically significant at 5 percent probability level.Source School of Business and Economics, NC A&T State University. Table 2 Profile of Survey Respondents accompaniment Frequency percentage Gender (n = 206) Male 99 48. 1 female person 107 51. 9 C lassification (n = 206) Freshman 21 10. 2 Sophomore 61 29. 6 Junior 77 37. 4 Senior 47 22. 8 Major theatre of operations Unit (n = 206) Business and Economics 140 68. 0 Other Areas * 66 32. * Include Arts and Science, Education, and Engineering. Table 3 Distribution of Number Problems for Students who seek Assistance * (n = 154) Classification Number of Problems and Gender One Two tierce Four Five Six Total Plus Classification Freshman 4 1 3 2 1 2 13 Sophomore 16 4 7 9 8 2 46 Junior 14 14 12 6 4 7 57 Senior 6 7 14 7 3 1 38Total 40 26 36 24 16 12 154 Gender Male 19 15 15 11 8 6 74 Female 21 13 19 13 8 6 80 Total 40 26 36 24 16 12 154 * Problems include adding/dropping courses, choosing major, changing major, improving grades, time management, internship opportunities, personal problems which affect academic performance. Table 4 Distribution of students who did not Seek Assistance (n = 52) frequency Percent of Total ClassificationFreshman 9 17. 3 Sophomore 14 29. 9 Junior 19 36. 5 Senior 10 19. 3 Total 52 100. 0 Gender Male 25 48. 1 Female 27 51. 9 Total 52 100. 0 Reason for not Seeking Did not have problems 10 19. Did not have time 9 17. 3 Did not know availability of assistance 10 19. 2 Did not believe it is useful 7 13. 5 cabal of last three 8 15. 4 Other reasons 8 15. 4 Total 52 100. 0 Table 5 Student Efforts to Seek Assistance for Academic Problems (n = 154) Assistance sought from Frequency Percent Academic Advisor 89 59. 7 Department/Course instructor 44 29. University Center for Success 6 4. 0 SOBE resource Lab 3 2. 0 University steering Service 3 2. 0 Career Counseling 2 1. 4 Financial Aid 2 1. 4 Table 6 Student evaluation of Effectiveness of Assistance Sought (n = 149) token frequency Percent Grade improved 13 8. 7 intensify self-confidence 4 2. 7 Remained in major 15 10. 1 Changed major for better 16 10. 7 Two or more of above 60 40. 3No effect 41 27. 5 Table 7 Student Preference for Counseling/Monitoring Services Location (n = 206) Item Freq uency Percent Prefer student Counseling at school level Yes 147 71. 3 No 44 21. 4 Indifferent 15 7. 3 Would seek assistance more often if Available at school/college level) Yes 92 44. 7 No 15 7. Not sure 45 21. 8 Indifferent 54 26. 2 Gale Copyright Copyright 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning. all(a) rights reserved. Economic Scene Colleges Are Failing in graduation exercise Rates Top of Form Bottom of Form get by By DAVID LEONHARDT Published September 8, 2009 If you were going to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in modern years, youd probably have to start with the Wall Street firms and regulative agencies that brought us the financial crisis.From there, you might move on to Wall Streets fellow bailout recipients in Detroit, the once-Big Three. Multimedia pic From the Most Selective Colleges, More Graduates Related The College Dropout Boom Economix Which Colleges Are Doing Their Job? Reader Responses Failing Colleges Readers Comments Share your thoughts and read responses to readers comments from David Leonhardt on the Economix blog. Read All Comments (113) But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee public universities.At its top levels, the American placement of higher education may be the silk hat in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission turning teenagers into educated college graduates much of the system is simply failing. Only 33 percent of the freshmen who enter the University of Massachusetts, Boston, graduate within six years. slight than 41 percent graduate from the University of Montana, and 44 percent from the University of New Mexico. The economic expert Mark Schneider refers to colleges with such dropout rates as failure factories, and they are the norm.The fall in States does a good job enrolling teenagers in college, but only one-half of students who enroll end up with a bachelors degree. Among sizable countries, only Italy is wors e. Thats a big reason inequality has soared, and productivity growth has slowed. Economic growth in this decade was on stair to be slower than in any decade since World struggle II even before the financial crisis started. So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis matters wondrously, and a new tidings tries to do precisely that. It is called Crossing the Finish Line, and its findings are based on the records of about 200,000 students at 68 colleges.The authors were able to get their men on that data because two of them are pillars of the education establishment William Bowen (an economist and former Princeton president) and Michael McPherson (an economist and former Macalester College president). For all the books frightful statistics, its message is ultimately uplifting or at least invigorating. Yes, inadequate precollege education is a problem. But high schools still produce many students who have the skills to complete college and yet fail to do so. Turning them into college graduates should be a lot less difficult than fixing all of American education. We could be doing a lot better with college completion erect by working on our colleges, as Robert Shireman, an Education Department official who has read an early version of the book, says. Congress and the Obama administration are now pose together an education bill that tries to deal with the problem. It would cancel about $9 billion in annual government subsidies for banks that lend to college students and use much of the notes to increase financial aid. A small portion of the money would be set aside for promising pilot programs aimed at lifting the number of college graduates. All in all, the bill would help.But it wont solve the systems biggest problems the focus on enrollment rather than completion, the fact that colleges are not held to account for their failures. Crossing the Finish Line makes it clear that we can do better. The first problem that Mr. Bowen, Mr. McPherson and the books third author, Matthew Chingos, a doctoral candidate, diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one thats closer to home or, given the excruciating financial aid process, less expensive.About half of low-income students with a high school grade-point average of at least 3. 5 and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. Many dont even apply. Some apply but dont enroll. I was really astonished by the degree to which presumptively well-qualified students from poor families under-matched, Mr. Bowen told me. They could have been admitted to stopss Ann Arbor campus (graduation rate 88 percent, according to College Results Online) or Michigan State (74 percent), but they went, say, to Eastern Michigan (39 percent) or Western Michigan (54 percent).If they graduate, it would be hard to get pass about t heir choice. But large-mouthed numbers do not. You can see that in the chart with this column. In effect, well-off students many of whom will graduate no matter where they go attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. These are the places where many students live on campus (which raises graduation rates) and graduation is the norm. Meanwhile, lower-income students even when they are better qualified often go to colleges that excel in producing dropouts. Its really a waste, Mr. Bowen says, and a big problem for the country. As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen somewhat since the 1970s. What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer. Tellingly, net tuition has no impact on the graduation rates of high-income students. Yet it does affect low-income students. All else equal, they are less likely to make it through a more expensive state college than a less expensive one, the book shows. Conservatives are wrong to suggest affordability doesnt matter.But they are right that more money isnt the whole answer. Higher education today also suffers from a deep cultural problem. Failure has become acceptable. Students see no need to graduate in four years. Doing so, as one told the books authors, is like leaving the party at 1030 p. m. Graduation delayed often becomes graduation denied. Administrators then make excuses for their graduation rates. And policy makers hand out money based on how many students a college enrolls rather than on what it does with those students. There is a real agree here to health care.We pay doctors and hospitals for more care instead of better care, and what do we get? More care, even if in many cases it doesnt make us healthier. In education, the incentives can be truly perverse. Because large lecture classes are cheaper for a college than seminars, freshmen are cheaper than upperclassmen. So a college that allows many of its underclassmen to drop out may be helping its bottom line. If you look closely, you can still find reasons for optimism. A few colleges, like the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, have intensive programs that have raised graduation rates.The State of West Virginia has begun ligature student aid to academic progress, and graduation rates there have risen. Washington Monthly magazine has published a new college rank based in part on graduation rates. (Kudos to Penn State, among others. ) When students fill out an online form for federal financial aid, the Obama Education Department now informs them of the graduation rate at any college in which they express interest. But an enormous amount of work remains, and its hard to cerebrate of any work thats more important to the American economy.Last year, even in the custody of a recession that has spared no group of workers, the gap between what a college graduate get and wh at everyone else earned reached a record. Workers with bachelors degrees make 54 percent more on average than those who attended college but didnt finish, according to the Labor Department. Fifty-four percent just think about how that adds up over a lifetime. And then think about how many students never cross the college finish line. E-mail emailprotected com Public blames students for their failure at college By Eric Gorski Associated Press Published Monday, Dec. 3 2010 1239 a. m. MST Share Twitter Pinterest 0 0 0 pic View 2 photos Summary The public pins most of the blame for poor college graduation rates on students and their parents and gives a pass to colleges, government officials and others, a new Associated Press-Stanford University poll shows.Nov. 16, 2011 pic The public pins most of the blame for poor college graduation rates on students and their parents and gives a pass to colleges, government officials and oth ers, a new Associated Press-Stanford University poll shows. All sectors of American higher education received high marks for quality. That extends to for-profit colleges, scorn recent criticism of dubious recruiting tactics, high student loan default option rates and other problems at some schools. As is often the case, the integrity lies somewhere in between, said William A. Sederburg, Utahs Commissioner of Higher Education. We know higher education campuses can really do a lot more to improve retention. It is also true that a lot of students show up on campus without direction in their lives and without focus on what they want to do. Those are students that are most likely to drop out. But a belief that students are most at fault for graduation rates may be a troubling sign for reformers who have elevated college completion to the mind of higher education policy debates and pushed colleges to fix the problem, said Michael Kirst, professor old of education and business admin istration at Stanford. The message is, Students, you had your shot at college and failed and its your fault, not the college, Kirst said. When asked where the blame lies for graduation rates at public four-year colleges, 7 in 10 said students shouldered either a great deal or a lot of it, and 45 percent felt that way about parents. Others got off relatively easy Anywhere between 25 percent and 32 percent of those polled blamed college administrators, professors, teachers, unions, state education officials and federal education officials. Taking a closer look at the numbersRepublicans are likelier than Democrats to blame federal officials for todays college graduation rates 34 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats point at them. Theres a small partisan difference on the student blame question lxxvii percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats fault students heavily. Minorities are more flat than whites to blame professors and teachers for college graduation rat es, with 40 percent of minorities but just 29 percent of whites doing so. Fifty-seven percent of minorities blame parents for college graduation rates, while just 40 percent of whites do.Sara Goldrick-Rab, assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the results are deeply troubling and mean elite colleges and universities have succeeded in diverting blame from themselves. Those supporting the completion agenda need to push back hard and emphasize the role colleges play in supporting or undermining student success, she said. Such a push back may not be necessary in Utah, however, judging from Sederburgs attitude Its clearly not just students faults. I think we have a significant role to play. After long emphasizing access to college, higher education policy debates have shifted only recently to focusing on getting students through. The Obama administration has called for the United States to again lead the world in nu mber of college graduates by 2020. The goal in Utah is to increase retention rates by 8 percent on average over the next decade, Sederburg said. The Utah System of Higher Educations 2020 Plan for Higher Education, found at www. higheredutah2020. org, contemplates several strategies to increase retention such as enhancing advising and intervention advising if a student is off track to graduate.Getting students into the right courses is also important. midterm exam feedback may give students a chance to correct their trajectory. Its a different approach if you are a Salt Lake Community College than if you are at the University of Utah, said Cameron Martin, the office of the commissioner for higher educations associate commissioner for economic development. Each institution has to look at its strategies to see what works for them. BYU, for example, encourages students to graduate by providing a clear map for each program of study. It also tries to help students understand what the cr edit limits are to enter each program. If students are in danger of exceeding the appropriate amount of credits and have yet to offer a major, our University Advisement office will reach out to them to help provide further direction, said BYU spokesman Todd Hollingshead. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation and others have directed money and attention to states and colleges to improve completion rates, and several states are taking action. Stan Jones, president of Complete College America, which championed such efforts, disagreed that the poll spells trouble for reform. This will play out like the high school dropout issue, he said. The more it becomes a subject of public discussion the more advances we will make on confronting the college dropout problem. Just over half of first-time students who entered college in 2003-04 had not earned a degree or credential within six years, the Education Department reported recently. Thats slightly worse than students who s tarted in 1995-96. Experts caution it is untrusty to measure success and compare graduation rates because todays older, less-traditional college tudent population takes more time to finish school and is harder to track. The AP-Stanford poll found most stack were happy with the quality of higher education in their states. Despite fearsome budget cuts and spiraling tuition at many public four-year colleges, those schools received the highest marks Seventy-four percent in the poll called them excellent or good. But others institutions got strong marks, too Four-year private nonprofit colleges (71 percent), two-year public colleges (69 percent), private for-profit colleges (66 percent) and private for-profit trade schools (57 percent).Thats a rare glimpse at public opinion about for-profit colleges, which have been fighting proposed regulations that would that would cut off federal aid. The poll also found overwhelming agreement that there is a link between the nations prosperity and the quality of its education system. Overall, 88 percent say economic prosperity and quality education are closely entwined. Nearly 80 percent said that having all Americans graduate from a two- or four-year college would help the economy.Yet most in the poll are unwilling to invest more in the nations school systems in order to obtain that economic payoff just 42 percent opt raising taxes to pay for better education. The poll was conducted September 23-30 by Abt SRBI Inc. It gnarly interviews on landline and cellular telephones with 1,001 adults nationwide, and has a margin of sampling misplay of plus or minus 3. 9 percentage points. Stanford Universitys participation was make possible by a grant from the Gates Foundation. Contributing Michael De Groote, Deseret News, and Alan Fram of the AP