Low graduation rate: complex phenomenon
Campus retains 200 more seniors since 2008, reports Admissions
Janie Boschma
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Campus News
[Editor's note: This is the first article in a weekly series exploring various aspects of the Blugold Commitment.]
Junior Emily Miethke chose to attend UW-Eau Claire because she didn't know exactly what to do with her life. What she did know was that Eau Claire was a great school and had enough majors for her to choose from and explore, she said.
Miethke declared her English literature major as a sophomore, but fall/spring prerequisite rotations for her geology minor will delay her graduation by a semester.
"For some reason, we don't have a speedy graduation culture, and I don't know why that is," said Admissions Director Kris Anderson.
Taking four or more years to graduate is common at Eau Claire, where only 26 percent of students graduate in four, compared to UW-Madison's 50 percent and UW-La Crosse's 32 percent. After six years, the rate of students graduating from Eau Claire jumps to 61 percent.
On average, Blugolds graduate in 4.5 years, Anderson said. Enrollment records also show about 200 more seniors than last year.
"I believe most students do want to get out of here in four years; I just don't believe the university has ever pushed it," Student Body President Michael Umhoefer said in an Aug. 27 interview. "It's just not really in the chemistry of the university."
But four-year graduation is something the university does want to push now. It's often referred to by professors and administrators as a "selling point" to soften the blow of the $1,000 - 2,500 tuition increase proposed in the Blugold Commitment to compensate for declining state funding.
Some fifth-year students are like senior Jon Pepper, a transfer student making up for prerequisites and general education requirements that didn't match Eau Claire's. Pepper also changed his major three times before the end of his first year at Eau Claire. And on top of his 16-credit course load, he also works 35 hours a week to help pay for tuition and rent.
Junior Emily Miethke chose to attend UW-Eau Claire because she didn't know exactly what to do with her life. What she did know was that Eau Claire was a great school and had enough majors for her to choose from and explore, she said.
Miethke declared her English literature major as a sophomore, but fall/spring prerequisite rotations for her geology minor will delay her graduation by a semester.
"For some reason, we don't have a speedy graduation culture, and I don't know why that is," said Admissions Director Kris Anderson.
Taking four or more years to graduate is common at Eau Claire, where only 26 percent of students graduate in four, compared to UW-Madison's 50 percent and UW-La Crosse's 32 percent. After six years, the rate of students graduating from Eau Claire jumps to 61 percent.
On average, Blugolds graduate in 4.5 years, Anderson said. Enrollment records also show about 200 more seniors than last year.
"I believe most students do want to get out of here in four years; I just don't believe the university has ever pushed it," Student Body President Michael Umhoefer said in an Aug. 27 interview. "It's just not really in the chemistry of the university."
But four-year graduation is something the university does want to push now. It's often referred to by professors and administrators as a "selling point" to soften the blow of the $1,000 - 2,500 tuition increase proposed in the Blugold Commitment to compensate for declining state funding.
Some fifth-year students are like senior Jon Pepper, a transfer student making up for prerequisites and general education requirements that didn't match Eau Claire's. Pepper also changed his major three times before the end of his first year at Eau Claire. And on top of his 16-credit course load, he also works 35 hours a week to help pay for tuition and rent.
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