The overall graduation rate for college students has improved to 54.8%.  That is, 54.8% of all college students earn a 4-year degree in 6 years.  Yes that’s right.  We are excited about “finishing” when that is rarely something other fields/industries/activities focus on.  For example, a runner runs a race and when asked how they did, rarely do you hear, “I finished the race.”  When an employee completes a huge project and the employer wants to know, “How did it turn out?”; rarely do they accept, “I finished it.” as an appropriate response.  I’m sure you can think if a 1000 examples of when the answer, “I finished.” does not impress.  So why do colleges focus on this statistic?

1. Far too many students fail to earn a 4 year degree (and yes most earn that degree in 6 years).
2. Colleges and universities have been put to the task of increasing graduation rates.  So has K-12 schools.  However, in both cases, there is strong evidence that the quality of those graduates is not as strong as is desired.  In higher education, NACE surveys report that employers are not impressed with college graduates.  In K-12, while the graduation rates go up, the scores on ELA and Math assessments, ACT, and SAT go down.
3. Finally, as the saying goes, “You have to be in it to win it.”  If you are going to have any chance of success, you are going to have to complete some form of post-secondary education, with college degrees providing the highest return in a number of areas including improved health, better personal relationships, greater satisfaction with your career, and yes, higher earning potential.

Bottom line is, while colleges and universities are focusing on graduation rates, don’t make the same mistake.  You need to ask questions about availability of student groups, activities, competitions, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning opportunities; internships and service learning opportunities; and what the institution’s job placement rate is for graduates.  Also, what is the average salary broken down by major? While the answers to the placement rates and salaries are not easy to track and often are extremely expensive to determine, every college and university should have some information on their graduates.  After all, don’t you think you deserve to know more than the number of students who “finished the race”?

Steven J. Harvey, Ph.D. 
CEO & Founder, My College Max, Web Site: www.mycollegemax.com
Executive Director, The WNY Consortium of Higher Education, Web Site: www.wnycollegeconnection.com