House Panel Hears Recommendations for Improving College-Graduation Rates

Members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week heard recommendations for improving the graduation rates of college students and narrowing the "graduation gap" between students from different ethnic and income backgrounds.

Ross Wiener, policy director for the Education Trust, warned that, in contrast to nearly every other industrialized nation, "the U.S. alone has remained relatively stagnant in the percent of working-age citizens with a college degree" despite record levels of college enrollment. Wiener urged efforts to better align the standards for high-school graduation with those required to pursue postsecondary studies. He also recommended providing additional financial aid to low-income students who complete a college-prep curriculum, and suggested that Congress require states to put in place an accountability system for four-year colleges and universities.

William Law, president of Tallahassee Community College, noted that failing to graduate is not always a sign of failure for community-college students — because of the student populations that community colleges serve, the fact that many students obtain jobs prior to completing their studies, and open-enrollment policies that also permit "easy exit." Law suggested three steps that the federal government could take to promote higher graduation rates: providing more need-based financial aid, improving the tracking of students during their college careers, and providing support to help states and postsecondary institutions ease student transfers between two- and four-year institutions.

Paul Lingenfelter, executive director of State Higher Education Executive Officers, urged attention to factors that delay timely graduation or cause students to drop out. His recommendations included increasing the number of students taking rigorous college-prep courses in high school, providing good academic counseling, ensuring that courses needed for graduation are available, and rewarding excellent undergraduate teaching.

Richard Nault, vice president for Student Affairs at Miami University in Ohio, shared some of the "secrets" of his university's success in improving graduation rates. Nault noted that the university stresses personal education and an environment that enhances learning. He reported that first-year students live in residence halls built around an academic theme, and that faculty teach courses related to those themes in the residence halls. Nault testified that residence-hall directors also are trained academic advisers and that the university provides a software system that allows students to monitor their academic progress at any time.

The hearing was the committee's fourth on the College Access and Opportunity Act, which Republican members of the panel introduced in May to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The legislation would address the graduation gap by ensuring that students and parents have access to information to hold colleges and universities accountable.