<p>I agree that the 4 year graduation rate at UW needs to be improved and so does everyone in the UW administration up through, and including, Biddy Martin. Recent initiatives have increased tuition (to closer to the Big 10 mean) in order to fund more teachers for the classes that have casued bottlenecks in the system.</p>
<p>Ironically, the tuition increases designed to help solve this problem are the same ones that caused JiffsMom’s daughter to have to abandon her #1 school for financial reasons. Why JiffsMom continues to bash UW after her daughter decided to attend my alma mater, UIUC, might be best addressed by counseling, in my opinion.</p>
<p>The undergrad I know best, my daughter, is in the nursing program which is very structured. If you get in after your sophomore year, you will graduate in 4 years. However, the competitive nature of admission into high-demand programs like nursing, business and engineering also causes the 4 yr graduation rate to be low. That is because a large number of students who do not land a spot in nursing, engineering and business after their sophomore year simply take another year of classes and then apply again to the school of their choice.</p>
<p>One solution to this is to increase the size of the student body in the high-demand programs. Differential tuition is designed, in part, to expand those class sizes.</p>
<p>Posting factual data is bashing? Maybe you should point that bashing finger at UW - THEY provided the 4-year grad rate data to which I’ve referred in answer to the OP’s question.</p>
<p>Notice how that Madison Initiative tuition surcharge (added AFTER the May 1st enrollment decision deadline) that priced my daughter out of UW is NOT helping the situation for AxeBack’s and my daughter’s UW friends. They’re still barred from registering for classes they’re qualified to take. A UW alumnus predicted exactly how this surcharge would play out, here: “the reality is that while the surcharge will tax current undergraduate students, few of them will see these alleged improvements. The chancellor says UW will add faculty. But it is already too late to hire qualified people in tenure-track positions for fall 2009. The earliest new faculty could be on campus is fall 2010, when the current freshmen are juniors. And, since juniors need fewer of the so-called gateway courses, access to which the chancellor promised to increase, it is unlikely current UW students will notice any of the promised improvements. Parents, then, should not be fooled into thinking they are somehow making a direct contribution to the betterment of their own childs education. The surcharge current students and parents pay will go to help those who enroll after the current students have begun paying back student loans.”
[The</a> Badger Herald: Opinion: Tuition increase simple robbery](<a href=“http://badgerherald.com/oped/2009/03/30/tuition_increase_sim.php]The”>http://badgerherald.com/oped/2009/03/30/tuition_increase_sim.php)</p>
<p>Avoidance and denial of facts about UW with which one is uncomfortable is more of a reason to seek counseling, in my opinion, than is being upfront and honest with those who are seeking factual information on the likelihood of graduating from UW in 4 years. Though, this isn’t the first time UW and/or it’s ‘cheerleaders’ have attempted to stifle dissent in intellectual debate:
[The</a> Education Optimists: I (Finally) Figured Out Why I Want Tenure](<a href=“http://eduoptimists.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-finally-figured-out-why-i-want-tenure.html]The”>The Education Optimists: I (Finally) Figured Out Why I Want Tenure)</p>
<p>ChiDad, you bring up a very good point, about the popularity of the programs possibly causing an increase in the length of time to graduate. I think in this current economic situation, more parents and students are probably pushing to get degrees that are probably more marketable. That unknown may be causing some of the anxiety students may be facing. I don’t think I’m a cheerleader, and I can only speak from my son’s experience in the business school and his friends. There were no bottlenecks that kept them from graduating in four years. (And I was trying to be light hearted about the not leaving because they were having fun.) I talked to him about these points, and he says that “freshman courses only” are not a big deal. According to him, if someone is using that as an excuse for not graduating, they aren’t being truthful or honest with themselves.
JiffsMom, I’m trying to be nice here, and you’re right, I can’t explain the graduation rates, but then again neither can you. Perhaps my “stop whining” was harsh, and I apologize for that, but I do think learning how to deal with these things is a necessary life skill.
beastman, please reread badgergirl’s post. She did not outdo the system. She had one semester where she wasn’t sure she was going to get into the business school and waited until she knew to register for classes. That option is availabe to all for the semester where they are waiting for an answer about their application. It worked for her and she’s graduating in 3.5 years with a double major, making her parents pretty happy! (That was a lighthearted comment, I have no data to support that claim.)</p>
<p>My freshman student got into 3 classes in the past week that were closed when he registered last Monday night. In two instances, he emailed the professors (who each happened to be the chair of their respective departments) and received replies back within a day that a spot would be opened/allocated for him. In the 3rd instance, he called the department secretary after the professor replied to my son via email that he would need to wait until someone dropped the course. My son explained to the department secretary that online, it showed that there was an opening in a particular discussion section but that the corresponding lecture was closed. She immediately entered a ‘permission’ for him to enroll in the lecture. Each of these people were very pleasant, helpful and courteous.</p>
<p>Independence and initiative are required at UW. Helicoptering parents won’t help. It doesn’t matter at all what any other institution chooses to do, UW students master the ins and outs of success in dealing with UW’s ways. Many examples of easy ways of requesting admittance have been given. Students who prefer another school’s idiosyncrasies are free to go there instead- love it or leave it. Or find a viable solution and present it to the school (researching all of the variables to be sure it really works for more people than the current one). This is an imperfect world, you have to learn to handle the flaws.</p>
<p>BTW- some students DO find a way to stay on longer than they need to and postpone their graduation. Others transfer, drop out- there are many reasons for grad rates being what they are. Some schools have lower graduation rates regardless of how many years they track students. One has to weigh all of the plusses and minuses of a school and make a choice. You know your child better than any of us here- some parents can predict that their child is more likely to change majors at a late date or otherwise probably need more than 4 years wherever they go. The posts have shown goals CAN be achieved, your results will depend on the variables that fit your child.</p>