State defends low college grad rate

Massachusetts state colleges are lagging behind the rest of the nation in graduation rates, according to a study commissioned by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and released Feb. 18, but state college officials say the report is flawed and needs review.

Graduation rates are 9 to 13 percent behind the national average, according to the study.

Massachusetts Board of Higher Education spokeswoman Lynette Robinson-Weaning said the way the data is interpreted is key in determining how state colleges are doing.

“If you look at the data you will see there is a great deal of variation between the different colleges,” she said.

More selective colleges have much higher graduation rates, she added. “It is improving. This has been shown throughout the last two years, and part of the reason is because new admissions policies are being created so that students are more prepared.”

Robinson-Weaning also said the study did not take into account the different types of students who attend the schools. Many of the colleges with lower graduation rates have a majority of working adults enrolled who do not live on campus and take an average of six years to earn degrees. Because the measurement is based on how many students graduate in four years, working students bring down the average rate, Robinson-Weaning said.

Framingham State College President Helen Heineman also said the data from the study was analyzed inadequately.

“I have gone into these figures quite a bit recently, and the numbers being used publicly in the media are incorrect,” she said. Schools on different levels – such as the University of California at Berkeley and Massachusetts state colleges – should not be compared, she said.

“Do not compare colleges that begin with a 900 average [SAT] score to those with an 1150. It is simply unfair and impractical,” Heineman said.

But Heineman did say that Massachusetts state colleges are continually concerned with keeping students and, like any college, are seeking to keep their graduation numbers climbing.

“Are we concerned? Well of course,” she said. “Obviously we would all like to have a higher [graduation] rate. We want to retain our students. But our students come from all different backgrounds – academically, financially – and ages. Thus they should be compared to there peers and not to schools which do not represent them. Once again the percentages in the media being used are incorrect.”

Robinson-Weaning also voiced the need to study the implications of what the statistics mean while staying optimistic.

“The numbers are improving,” she said. “At the last meeting, it was determined that we want to study more of what is going on. It is very complex, and no one wants to be at the defense of a college with a 31 percent graduation rate, but there are various hypotheses about why these numbers exist, including the campus composition. This is something the board plans to study until it resolves why the numbers are what they are.”