A Focus on Graduation
Congratulations, your child just received admittance to college. All of that hard work you put in; saving money, reviewing homework - doing homework, and all of the words of encouragement have finally paid off. It’s time for a deep exhale and long sigh of relief...
Ah, not so fast! According to The Education Trust, an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to make schools and colleges work for all of the
young people they serve, fewer than six in 10 students entering four-year colleges in 1997 had a degree six years later and fewer than four in 10 achieved that milestone in the normal four years.
As a parent, there are steps you can take that will help your
child walk to Pomp and Circumstance on graduation day.
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Encourage your child to get involved in campus life.
Socialization at school is a major factor in a student’s decision to remain till graduation. Part-time students, older “non-traditional” students, first-generation students and commuting students will have a harder time connecting with the institution, but that is not to suggest they cannot.
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Be prepared financially to pay for four years of college expenses. Most students who do not graduate are not kicked out for academic reasons, they just leave - sometimes for financial reasons. To avoid this, consider all of the expenses your child will encounter at school. Tuition aside, there is room and board, commuting expenses, living expenses, books and equipment (many universities are now requiring laptop computers).
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Stress the benefits of a degree to your child. Simply put, a college education affords opportunities that are not available to individuals that do not have an undergraduate degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median earnings for individuals with a bachelor’s degree were 62% higher in 2003 than those with only a high school degree. On average, it also takes college graduates less time to find a job and they are less likely to be unemployed.
Some colleges also do a better job than others in seeing students through to graduation. Elite schools generally have higher graduation rates. However, graduation rates may vary greatly among seemingly similar colleges with regard to price and student SAT scores. The Education Trust has prepared a searchable database of school graduation rates online at http://www.collegeresults.org. Some of the better schools featured include:
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Florida State University - a 62.9% graduation rate in 2003, 8.6 points higher than the national average of 54.3%. The university credits some of this
success to the employment of professional full-time advisers who personally
contact each student at least three times a semester. According to Provost
Lawrence Abele, “We put advisers wherever students are - in the library,
student union and residence halls.”
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Notre Dame University - a 94.6% graduation rate in 2003, one of the
highest in the nation. University officials attribute that success to a close
attention to undergraduate teaching and learning.
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Syracuse University - an 81.0% graduation rate in 2003, their high water
mark after a steady increase over the previous six years. Provost Deborah
Freund now defines the schools as, “a university that is equally committed
to excellence in both teaching and research,” which is a subtle, but imptant distinction from the previous, research institution that also teaches.
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Elizabeth City State University in North
Carolina - a 50.5% graduation rate, lower than
the national average, but a much higher rate of
success than similar schools. Chancellor Mickey
Burnim has made it clear that everyone has a role
to play in students’ success - from the registrar
to the groundskeepers. In some cases, it comes
down to a housekeeper noticing that a student
hasn’t been going to class.
In addition to comparing schools to a national average, it is also important to compare with other institutions that have similar students, funding, size and academic missions. Looked at this way, The Education Trust suggests that some colleges and universities simply stand out from the crowd, consistently graduating more students than their peers, year after year. And as a parent, don’t dismiss your role. Your college bound child needs your continued support and encouragement now more than ever.