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New facilities to increase graduation rates
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Monday August 20, 2001 |
Arizona Daily Wildcat
More freshmen expected to graduate in 4 as result of improved advising
University of Arizona faculty anticipate that a new building and advising project will increase the school's 55 percent graduation rate and improve students' understanding of graduation requirements.
Sylvia Mioduski, Freshman Year Center undergraduate adviser, said the Integrated Learning Center - a building that will incorporate technology specialists, academic advisers, librarians, faculty and general-education classrooms - and the Academic Advising Task Force "are two examples of concrete strategies the university is taking to help graduation rates."
Mioduski said she hopes the ILC will help students understand the steps and requirements needed for a successful college career.
"A building by itself isn't the answer," she said. "A collaboration between students and faculty is the answer for better graduation rates."
Mioduski added that financial issues, internships, changing majors, studying abroad and lighter class loads may contribute to low graduation rates.
"Class availability is a pretty minimal factor. With most majors, juniors and seniors should have the priority for getting into classes. That should help students graduate in a more timely manner," she added.
Rick Kroc, UA Director of Assessment and Enrollment Research, believes the university's graduation rates have increased dramatically and are equivalent to similar schools, despite the fact that the average UA student only attempts 13 credits per semester.
"Ten years ago, only 17 percent of UA students graduated in four years," he said. "The freshmen class of 1996 graduated 29 percent of its students in four years."
Kroc believes that streamlining the general education program, employing the "Finish in Four" program, and decreasing the number of mandatory credits has created better graduation rates.
Over the last decade, UA graduation rates have improved, while on a national scale, it has taken students longer to finish their undergraduate degree, Kroc said.
"The UA graduation statistics appear to be on line with other institutions like ours, in terms of institutions with similar entrance requirements," Kroc said.
Both Mioduski and Kroc concede that smaller, private schools have better graduation rates than the UA.
"Private schools find it easier to graduate their students in four because they do not have as broad of a range of majors," Mioduski said.
The UA "Student Right to Know" Web site lists that 64 percent of the school's students who enroll as full-time freshmen and average 15 credits per semester graduate within six years.
Kroc added that research conducted by the Assessment and Enrollment department shows that a lot of students who did not graduate went on to Pima Community College, other institutions or international schools.
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