WSU FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATE RISES

By Conor Devitt

I). Initial Statistic

·         Number of years it has risen

·         Percent increase

II). Factors leading to increase

·         Poor economy

·         Effective Advisors

·         Rising Tuition Rates

III). Tuition and Graduation Rate Correlation

·         Tuition increase over the last decade

·         Four year graduation rate over the last decade

·         Tuition and four year graduation rate changes since 1989

IV). Concluding Information

·         Retention rate

·         4 year graduation rate in relation to the national average

Due to the struggling economy, WSU students are graduating at an increasingly rapid rate.

The percentage of students at WSU who graduate in four years has risen consecutively each of the last four years, according to a report by the Office of Institutional Research at WSU. Using the 2005 incoming freshmen class as a cohort, 37.5 percent of them graduated in four years. Of the incoming freshmen in 2008, 41.5 percent graduated in four years.

 The increase in percent is largely due to one overarching factor, WSU Vice Provost Mary F. Wack said.

“My number one reason is I would point to the poor economy where people are really focused on getting through as quickly as they can,” Wack said. “Financial reasons are motivating people to get through faster.”

However, the percent increase cannot be solely attributed to one reason.

“In educational research there are always multiple factors,” Wack said. “The advisors are trying to get students through without too many detours.”

Wack also mentioned that rising tuition rates in combination with the poor economy probably contribute to the percentage increase.

“Basically the thing that really made me want to get this whole education thing done in four years is it costs a lot of money to go here,” said senior communication major Colin Findley-Meyer, who is graduating in May. “And it’s gotten more and more expensive over my time here. “

Tuition has risen by $3596 for in-state students in the last four years, according to a different report by the Office of Institutional Research. In-state tuition has more than doubled in the last decade, from $3898 in 2002 to $9886 in 2012.

The large change in tuition over the last decade is matched by the stark difference in the 4-year graduation percentage between the beginning of the decade and the end. Only 30.3 percent of the 1998 freshmen class graduated in four years, a ten percent decrease compared to the 2008 freshmen class.

The four year graduation percentage and tuition prices continue to correlate farther back in time. In 1989, when tuition was $1798, only 23.9 percent of the freshmen class graduated in four years.

“Our mean time to degree is not a whole lot more than 4 years now,” Wack said, estimating it was around 4.3 “I’m glad to see a piece of good news.”

The news is not all positive. Retention rates were lower for the 2011 freshmen class (81.3 percent) than they had been in over two decades.

WSU students are just above the national average regarding four year graduation percentages, said Fran Hermanson, the Associate Director for the Office of Institutional Research. The Department of Education reports that the national four year graduation rate is 39 percent.

The struggling economy, rising tuition prices and advisors are not the only factors motivating students to graduate in four years.

“[My parents] said ‘Hey, you’ve got four years and after that you’re on your own,’” Findley-Meyer said. “That’ll give you some motivation to get it done and get out of here and go make some money yourself.”

Fran Hermanson: 509-335-3942

Mary F. Wack: mwack@wsu.edu

Colin Findley-Meyer: 360-770-3818