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<p>In the '50s and 60’s, some flagship public universities with near-free/free in-state rates and open-admission policies for in-staters probably had lower than currently acceptable graduation rates. </p>
<p>A large part of that was those policies were coupled with a university-wide policies which unprepared and/or the unmotivated are weeded out within an incoming class’ first two years so every in-stater has an opportunity to attend college if desired and only the academically prepared and/or motivated succeeded in making it to graduation. </p>
<p>Difference was such low graduation rates weren’t always considered a bad thing if the main cause was due to the weeding out of unprepared and/or unmotivated underclassmen as the though was that the weeded out student had his/her chance…and didn’t follow through on it. </p>
<p>In short, criticizing a university…especially a public one for low graduation rates without a deeper examination of the factors involved doesn’t shed much light on the actual possible problems…or whether there is really a problem from certain standpoints.</p>