Which Colleges Actually Graduate Their Students ?

  A new report by American Enterprise Institute is rasing quite a ruckus , and with good reason. The study can be accessed at www.aei.org/paper/10019. It compares 6 year graduation rates from similar colleges in terms of similar levels of admissions selectivity, and the college averages by selectivity band are all over the map from 35% graduation to 88 percent. This is useful information, and I applaud the authors initiative. Ed Trust has done some similar studies in the past.

  But I have a major caveat. Many students graduate after six years, and for broad access colleges 8 or more years is not unusual- see Cliff Adelman- The Tool Box Revisited. Students must work and go part time, so the 6 year cut year is becoming less of a fair standard for some types of colleges.