<p>Does anyone know why UO's graduation rate is so low (44%)? Does it have anything to do with classes not being available? D is considering UO but I worry about the low stats.</p>
<p>Student here. That’s our four year graduation rate – I think our overall graduation rate is 80-something percent. We actually don’t have any impacted majors, and classes are extremely easy to get; so easy, in fact, that I’ve never had any problem getting whatever class I want at any time I want. That was one of the many reasons why I decided to come here over several UCs that accepted me.</p>
<p>ckr4282, thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that the issue is not availability of classes. But the question remains why does is UO’s 4 yr grad rate near the bottom of all public universities? We are OOS so adding a year or more of tuition is not in the cards. Can you tell me some of the best things and worst things about your experience at OU? What year are you? Thanks</p>
<p>My daughter just graduated from UO. She was in the honors college (extra courses required), had her major and three minors and still graduated in 4 years even with all those different course requirements. She was very organized, which helped, but did not have any problems getting the classes she needed. She loved UO. It was a great experience, a great education and she had some very special opportunities there.</p>
<p>Hi pushydad, as an out-of-state parent, I can completely understand your concerns about graduating in four years. There are lots of reasons behind the number you cited, but they mostly boil down to the fact that the UO gives students autonomy in charting their course to graduation (we also offer them lots of support, but our programs aren’t rigidly structured). A student who takes a couple of years to declare a major or switches majors may need longer to finish. Some students will study abroad or do internships for a full year or enroll in programs that are designed to take 5 years (such as the art BFA program). The bottom line is that students who are motivated to finish in 4 years can do so, especially if they work with the academic advising staff and their faculty adviser to stay on track (and listen to their parents’ advice, of course).</p>
<p>For the benefit of anyone else who might read this, I do want to point out that the national average 4-year graduation rate for public universities is 31% while the UO’s is 44%; the 6-year national average is 56% while the UO’s is just under 68%. So in both categories, the UO is actually more than 10% above the national average.</p>