Graduation rate at the U is rising, but work remains

Matt Pawlikowski has accomplished what seemed impossible a decade ago -- he made his way through the University of Minnesota in just 3½ years.

On Sunday, Pawlikowski was among the 980 College of Liberal Arts students picking up a diploma during a mid-year graduation ceremony at Northrop Auditorium.

For any student at any college, securing that degree in less than four years is a significant accomplishment. That Pawlikowski was able to do it at the university's Twin Cities campus -- a school with a checkered reputation for graduating students in a timely manner -- is even more impressive.

As recently as 1993, only 18 percent of the university's students graduated in four years. By 2006, more than 40 percent had made it through in that time. Although the university still trails its peers in the percentage of students graduating in six years or less, make no mistake, the numbers reflect significant improvement in an area that has long been a sore spot for the school and its administrators.

The trend is important because stronger numbers put the U in better standing among the nation's public universities. For university students, getting through school quicker saves a whole lot of money, too. And that's key when tuition and fees are exceeding $9,000 per year.

"This is a work in progress," said Craig Swan, vice provost for undergraduate education. "We're not where we need to be. We have a ways to go, but we've also come a long ways."

Peer pressure

In its much-publicized quest to be an elite public research institution, Minnesota has compared itself to 10 peer universities, including Penn State, Wisconsin, Texas and Washington.

Of the 11 schools, Minnesota ranks last in the percentage of students who graduate in six years or less. Eight of the other schools graduate more than half their students in four years, and all graduate more than 65 percent in five years and 70 percent in six years.

In the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings, Minnesota is tied for 71st among the top 130 national universities. None of 12 schools with lower six-year graduation rates is ranked ahead of Minnesota.

To improve its standing, the university has pushed hard on the issue. The hope is that 60 percent of next fall's freshman class will graduate in four years, with 80 percent earning a degree within six years.

As important as the four-year numbers are to the school, the five- and six-year rates might be more significant. The school's current five-year graduation rate (students who enrolled in 2001) is 57.9 percent, and the six-year rate (enrolled in 2000) is 60.8 percent.

There are several programs at Minnesota, including music, that are nearly impossible to complete in four years. In addition, many Institute of Technology students participate in co-op programs that blend work experience and course work but delay graduation.

"The six-year rate is important because students who don't graduate in six years have a greater risk of not graduating at all," Swan said.

Changing culture

The push to improve graduation rates can be traced to the mid-1990s, when then-President Mark Yudof put an increased emphasis on undergraduate education.

Money was spent on increased services and advising for undergraduates. Several new dorms were built, allowing more students to live on campus and have a stronger connection with the university.

"People would have always said that graduation is important," Swan said. "But was the university organized in a way that our practices and policies always encouraged timely graduation? If you go back 15 years, I think you'd have to say no. ... I wouldn't say that now."

In 2002, the university instituted perhaps its biggest change aimed at improving timely graduation rates when it mandated that full-time students take at least 13 credits a semester. Previously it wasn't uncommon for students to take only 12 credits per term. To complete school in four years, a student must take an average of 15 credits a semester to earn the 120 credits required to graduate.

The average credit load for freshmen is currently 15.3, Swan said. The number is higher for sophomores.

"We are much more explicit about expectations at orientation than we ever were before," Swan said.

Why it matters

Danette Gerald, the assistant director of higher education at the Education Trust in Washington, said that graduation rates are important not only to the schools, but to the students applying for admission.

"Students want to know that they have more than a 50-50 chance of graduating in a timely manner," Gerald said.

Because the cost of higher education is constantly rising, U President Robert Bruininks has worked to increase the amount -- both in number and value -- of scholarships and grants available to undergraduates, especially low-income students. That was done, in part, to help students focus on school and to keep them from working long hours in part-time jobs.

"Students who stay on track ... can save as much as $20,000 by graduating in four years rather than five," Bruininks said. "When you think of being able to get into the labor force a year earlier and you think about that in terms of lifetime earning, it can mean as much as $1 million over the course of your lifetime."

Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478