How To Measure Four Year College Graduation Rates

Many students need to stop out of college to work or have health and family problems. Other students transfer and cannot get the courses they want after transfer. Some statistics count transfers as dropouts from the sending college.

But the big arguement is whether college completion shouldbe measured by a standard of 4 ,6,8,or 10 years. I favor using 6 years and 10 years. Six is a reasonable expectation, and after that students are losing time and money to not have a degree. But 10 is needed because studies like Cliff Adelman’s  The Toolbox Revisited demonstrate a significant number of students persist to 8 years to graduate at the less selective 4 year colleges. Some take 10 years to complete and I expect more will in next decade. Adlemans study is 10 years old and more students are stopping out longer and swirling among many colleges.