Are our children all above average? New study says no

Low graduation rates, high tuition and a disconcerting achievement gap at Minnesota colleges and universities, especially among minorities, are revealed in a new study.

By JEFF SHELMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 12, 2008 - 9:22 PM

Minnesotans pay twice as much as the national average to get a public college education, but they're not getting double the results.

Fewer than 40 percent of students at Minnesota's colleges and universities graduate in four years, according to a report released this week by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. In addition, students of color have less than a 50-50 chance of graduating at all.

For a state where high school students traditionally fare well on college entrance exams, that's disconcerting to those in charge of assessing the quality of higher education in Minnesota.

"Part of our concern is that we start out so high, and then once the students get into school, our results tend to be really national average," said Susan Heegaard, director of the Office of Higher Education. "The question for Minnesota as a state is, 'Is this where we want to be?' If we want to compete nationally and internationally, our argument is that we need to do better than average."

Mandated by the Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the report aimed to quantify the costs and results of colleges and universities. Among its findings:

Slow to graduate: For high school students who entered a four-year school in the fall of 2000, only 36.7 percent of them graduated in four years and 57.5 percent graduated in six years. Only five of the state's 36 four-year schools -- public or private -- had a four year graduation rate of better than 70 percent.

Rates are particularly low at schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. According to the report, only 20.6 percent of MnSCU students graduated in four years, and fewer than half had graduated after six years.

"Our state universities are not as selective as Carleton or Macalester or even the University of Minnesota," MnSCU spokesperson Melinda Voss said. "We have to serve a broad group of students and some of them are not as prepared [academically] as others."

MnSCU officials said that their six-year graduates combined with the number of students who transfer to another institution compare well with similar systems across the country.

Lack of minority success: Only 20 percent of black students who enrolled at a four-year school graduated in four years and 51 percent didn't graduate within six years. For American Indian students, 19 percent graduated in four years and 57 percent didn't graduate in six years.

Results at two-year colleges -- where the majority of black and American Indian students begin their studies -- were similar. Only 16 percent of black students who enrolled in a two-year college in fall 2003 graduated within three years.

This comes at a time in which the state demographics are changing. According to the state, the number of high school graduates of color will increase by 40 percent from 2004 and 2015 while the number of white graduates will drop by 17 percent.

"We have no choice but to turn it around if we want to remain competitive not only within our region but within the country," said Phillip Miner, the director of community initiative for the Minnesota Private College Council.

Sticker shock: Taking financial aid packages into consideration, the average net cost of attending a four-year public college or university in Minnesota is $4,720 per year and the cost at a two-year school is $2,620.

While much higher than the national averages, costs are similar to other Great Lakes/Big Ten states. The average cost at private not-for-profit schools is $12,220.

The rising cost of public education, officials say, is the result of shrinking state support. At MnSCU, for example, the state appropriation per student dropped by 25.9 percent from 2002 to 2007.

Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478