<p>This seems a little low compare to other big universities. I have noticed that some are 75% or higher. Should this be a concern for us? My husband thinks it should be.</p>
<p>i would say that totally depends on the kind of student you are sending. if you are sending a serious student, then it is not a concern.</p>
<p>many CC students could probably graduate in less than 4 years but choose to stay for 4 (or more). :)</p>
<p>The opportunity to graduate in less than four years is certainly available to those students who enter UA with AP, DE and CLEP credits. However, most of those students take the opportunity to double major, double minor, do a study abroad, or use their “extra” credits to just explore others interesting subjects. I would say that most students on scholarship stay for their full four years.</p>
<p>As to the graduation rate: there are many adult and part-time students, as well as commuter students, who cannot afford to go to college full time and will take more than four years to graduate. Although, we are used to hearing a lot about high achieving, scholarship students on this forum, most students are full pay, and have to work their way through school or have parents pay. Finances will always play a role in graduation rate percentages.</p>
<p>Where is this grad rate stat from, please?</p>
<p>The scholarship money provided my DD with options that she may not have had without the money. She can either graduate early and walk away from additional semesters of study - stay the entire duration of the scholarship and double major- or get a masters degree if she pursues a STEM course of study. The type of student you send will greatly impact your students experience regardless where you send them.</p>
<p>That stat isn’t unusual for big state univs. Where are you seeing that stat? </p>
<p>Big state univs often have a number of students who attend who are “from the area”. Local students often work part-time while going to school.</p>
<p>What is your concern?</p>
<p>Do you think that students are taking longer to graduate because they can’t get classes or what? </p>
<p>Students who have funding (scholarships, parents, whatever) and who aren’t making decisions that interfere with their course plan (wild changes in major, dropping needed courses, etc) don’t have trouble graduating in 4 years.</p>
<p>My husband thinks it should be.</p>
<p>Why? Are you sending your child to college underfunded? Is your child likely going to make wild changes in his major? Is your child likely going to drop classes or take light loads?</p>
<p>If not, then his concern is…what?</p>
<p>I’d like to know how that stat is calculated. If it includes all of the freshman drop-outs & transfers, then I am not at all surprised at this relative “low” grad rate. I just found the article where this was quoted from…OP did not say the other half of the stats. (i’m on phone so can’t easily paste link here) Look at the 4yr grad rate + also note UA compared to national average, please.</p>
<p>As others have said, 67% is not that bad for a large state university.
Some are better, several are a lot worse.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Almost all schools publish their statistics in what is called the Common Data Set.</p>
<p>UA’s last report is here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://oira.ua.edu/d/sites/all/files/reports13/1213_cds.pdf[/url]”>http://oira.ua.edu/d/sites/all/files/reports13/1213_cds.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here are some 6 year graduation rates of schools that I would consider comparable.
Michigan State 79%
TAMU 81%
Florida State 75%</p>
<p>When the number is lower than its peers I think it sends up a flag that says something may be wrong. I think it is good to be asking the question now. There may be a very good reason for the low graduation rate and one may decide it is not a concern but I think the OP’s husband is right to question it.</p>
<p>Again, unless your student is going to take a low amount of credits each semester and take their time, there is no reason to suggest that this statistic will apply to your student.</p>
<p>There are plenty of resources, classes and guidance to help students. There are ways for the student to track their progress and enable them to graduate in four years. If the student takes longer than four years, it is probably because the student is taking their time or because finances are involved.</p>
<p>No student who goes to Bama with adequate funding and an academic plan should worry about graduating in 4 years. There certainly should not be a concern about graduating within 6. </p>
<p>Bama is not a school where students take longer to graduate because they can’t get their classes. </p>
<p>At most schools, the reasons that students take longer is this:</p>
<p>1) students are working their way thru college
2) students change their major at a time when the change requires too many add’l classes.
3) students aren’t taking a full 15 credit courseload
4) students won’t take classes at “inconvenient” times (won’t take a 8 am or 2pm class).
5) students drop courses</p>
<p>Some schools, especially pricey privates, are better able to “force” kids to graduate on time because students are often told that FA stops after four years. That rule often forces students to forego a change in major in order to graduate ontime. </p>
<p>Using that same logic, one of the reasons that I think the scholarship students graduate on-time is because their awards will disappear after four years.</p>
<p>I think the concern, as a parent, is that if kids are not getting done in 6 years they probably are not finishing at all. Why the heck are kids not finishing? Are they dropping out? Are they flunking out? Are they transferring? etc?</p>
<p>I am not UA bashing. I went to a school that has a 50% 6 year graduation rate and finished in 4 1/2 years. I have a son that is at a school with less than a 50% graduation rate but he will finish in 4 years but we asked why the low graduation rate before he enrolled and got a satisfactory answer. I have another son that may attend UA.</p>
<p>Dr. Bonner, the school president, is on top of this. Her current main goal is to dramatically improve UA’s graduation rate. Univ. of Florida had the same graduation rate 20 years ago, that Bama has now, and they have had tremendous success improving their’s. Dr. Bonner is following their model. In fact, several months ago I posted to this board a video link of her 2013 Fall Faculty Address in which she laid out her plan.</p>
<p>^ I have seen this, it is good. She is saying we can do better and will do better rather than saying don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>And it looks like they’re being pretty proactive about it, too, with their “Finish in Four” program: <a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama;
<p>I usually don’t enter these conversations. But I think this one is very important. As I have learned through my son, The University of Alabama has a dimension to its education that goes far beyond the classroom. Heck, far beyond Tuscaloosa for that matter. When we are searching for “the best” university for our children, we easily become influence by “the numbers”. I for one, am happy that someone is asking why the graduation rate is so low.</p>
<p>The driving force behind the number has a name. Poverty. When on the UA campus, Alabama appears to be a wealthy state. You only have to drive 57 miles away to the Black Belt of Alabama to find some of the poorest counties in the nation. The effects of poverty on college readiness and college success are profound.</p>
<p>I’m certain a demographic survey would demonstrate a drastic contrast between graduation rates of the OOS/IS Honors students and other sub sections of the university’s student body.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama is addressing this issue on a multitude of levels. Efforts are being made by administration, Honors College Students, University Fellows, 57 miles, Black Belt Action, and individual students, just to name just a few.</p>
<p>I think the people here are just trying to put your mind at ease OP and WAPacker. Bright students coming from a supportive background will not have a problem graduating in four years. And the opportunities for these students are limitless at UA.</p>
<p>As I said at the beginning of my post, The University of Alabama offers an education far beyond the classroom for those who are interested. Though my son may forget much of what he is learning in Organic Chemistry throughout his life, his friendships, education and the life changing experiences in the Black Belt of Alabama will be with him forever.</p>
<p>*I think the concern, as a parent, is that if kids are not getting done in 6 years they probably are not finishing at all. </p>
<p>*
Maybe…and maybe that’s the nature of state schools.</p>
<p>Also, state schools are famous for accepting students who have to take “pre-college” classes. EVERY single FALL, the LA Times features an embarrassing article showing that about half of the kids in the Calif UCs and CSUs aren’t ready for Frosh Comp or college math. These kids have to take sub-100 classes. Likely these kids take longer to graduate. Maybe some never graduate.
*</p>
<p>Why the heck are kids not finishing? Are they dropping out? Are they flunking out? Are they transferring? etc?*</p>
<p>Why are these particular kids not finishing in 6 years? There are probably 20 different answers:</p>
<p>1) Some parents may close the checkbook when Junior’s grades aren’t sufficient.
2) Some may drop out.
3) some may get married and move onto something else.
4) some have babies
5) some join the military
6) some are only going part-time (or not “real” full-time)
7) some totally change their majors.
8) some are “double majoring” and pell grants and similar disappear if you graduate and then go back for a second degree…so they just keep going to college.<br>
9) some “take a break” from college and then return.
10) some may have medical reasons
11) Some never had their funding in place, but they went ahead and enrolled and then found out …oops…how are the bills going to get paid (we see THIS on CC all the time in the other forums. Kids enroll at their favorite schools in hope that some tuition fairy is going to come thru…magically…or that the school will feel sorry for them and cough up the money.)
12) some flunk out. At every school, a number of kids will flunk out – not mature enough, health issues, mental issues, lazy, too much socializing, too much video games, etc)</p>
<p>These are just off the top of my head. I’m sure that state schools could provide another 10+ reasons.</p>
<p>My son lived in honor’s housing with 3 roommates freshman year. After 1 semester 1 of those students opted to transfer. He was homesick and opted to move closer to home to be near family and friends.</p>
<p>This year he lived with 3 different honor’s students. After 1 semester 1 of those students opted to drop out. He found that even after he changed his major, he really wasn’t certain what path he wanted his future to take and chose to take some time away from school.</p>
<p>So out of 7 (3 freshman roommates + 3 sophomore roommates + son) honor’s students on scholarship at most 5 are going to graduate (from UA within 6 years) (and that could be lower, there are still 2 years left). That’s over a 28% attrition rate for honor’s students on scholarship.</p>
<p>But their leaving doesn’t say anything about UA or about their education…it really just speaks to the fact that there are many 18-20 year olds that are not ready to be in college (or away at college) for one reason or another.</p>
<p>During my time at UA, I knew many students who took over 4 years to graduate, who transferred from UA, or who dropped out. The other posters have provided many of the reasons. Sometimes a specific college or college in general is not a good fit for a specific student.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, UA has found that the students who are statistically the least likely to return to UA after their freshman year are those from nearby states, particularly those who aren’t in a close knit student group such as a sports team or Greek organization. The reasoning behind this is that such students often feel that they are leaving their family and high school friends behind and should instead attend a university in their home state with all their high school friends. Those most likely to return for their sophomore year are students from far away states as they tend to be more independent and knew that they likely wouldn’t know a lot of people when they first came to UA, but worked hard at making new friends.</p>
<p>*So out of 7 (3 freshman roommates + 3 sophomore roommates + son) honor’s students on scholarship at most 5 are going to graduate (from UA within 6 years) (and that could be lower, there are still 2 years left). </p>
<p>That’s over a 28% attrition rate for honor’s students on scholarship.*</p>
<p>That’s a 28% attrition rate for those particular 7 students. It’s not a 28% attrition rate for honors students. That’s too small of a sample to conclude a %.</p>
<p>I remember being told that the school expects 200 frosh to not return. I can’t remember if that was after the first semester or after the first year.</p>