Third Way Report Goes Wrong Way in Characterizing College Completion at U.S. Public Universities
In the hyper-partisan environment that has gripped Congress and that pervades many state capitals, thoughtful examination by non-partisan, third-party organizations can be helpful in promoting sound public policy through well-informed and accurate research and analysis. Unfortunately, in its recently released report on graduation rates at America’s public universities, Third Way, an organization purporting to provide such independent objective analysis, failed miserably in achieving this objective.
The report, What Free Won’t Fix: Too Many Public Colleges are Dropout Factories, paints a broad-brush picture of all U.S. public universities using a small sub-sample of the student population. The click-bait use of the term “dropout factories” is pure sensationalism, and is backed not by real evidence but by selective use of cherry-picked data devoid of any substantive context. The student population used in the study’s analysis includes only those who enrolled full time as freshmen, remained full time, never transferred to another institution, and who took out a federal government loan to fund their education. We know this is ultimately a small proportion of undergraduates, and yet the report’s cynical headline-grabbing title has to contort facts to make it appear that these students aren’t ultimately demonstrating strong, if still insufficient, graduation outcomes.
In Michigan, for example, nearly 40 percent of public university graduates complete their degree without having had to take out a federal loan. Further, according to national statistics, one-third of undergraduate students transfer at least once. Populations not included in the federal data utilized in the Third Way report include transfer students, those enrolled part time, working adults, and those who have never had to take out a federal loan to finance their college education. For many institutions, these populations collectively represent a very large proportion of the student body, and which more accurate data tell a very different story of their success in completing a baccalaureate degree.
In today’s knowledge-based economy, it is vital for states to encourage their residents to earn a postsecondary degree or credential, given that states with the highest per capita incomes are those with the highest percentage of college graduates in their population. Unfortunately, convincing many of today’s policymakers to invest in higher education is difficult. When groups like Third Way use one small slice of data to paint a misleading portrait of outcomes at U.S. public universities, it makes it even harder.
Not only did the Third Way report utilize poor and outdated federal education statistics in its gross mischaracterization of graduation outcomes at the nation’s public universities, it did so inaccurately; in the case of Michigan, claiming a collective average graduation rate of 52 percent among its public universities, when in fact it is 58 percent. But those numbers don’t recognize that many students transfer among colleges during their undergraduate careers. When these students are included, as they are in the State of Michigan’s improved database, 67 percent — a full two-thirds — of students are found to have graduated within six years. The report’s authors could have sought out more accurate state-level graduation statistics, or at least encouraged readers of the report to do so.
The Third Way report seems to focus on difficulties low-income, first generation students may have in completing their college degrees. U.S. public universities understand this challenge, and are working to put into place more programs aimed at helping these students. But one quick way an institution can improve its graduation rate — and score better in Third Way’s flawed assessment — is to reduce the number of first generation, low-income students in its enrollment. That’s not an appropriate or useful outcome for states or our nation and it’s one that public universities have chosen to reject. In a similar vein, the report provides no recognition of the diverse missions that drive the nation’s public universities, lumping in globally-recognized research universities with rural state colleges, urban serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities. These institutions collectively serve a wide array of student populations, each which requires varying levels of support services and investment to promote high levels of college completion.
Further, the Third Way report provides no context involving the financing of higher education. Not mentioned are the billions of dollars of state cuts in university operating support and student financial aid that have taken place in the past two decades, nor the incredible investment state universities have made in offsetting these cuts to ensure continued college access for students from low- and middle-income families.
The primary message that the Third Way report seems to advance — that public universities ought to focus more on student retention and degree completion — is outdated by at least a decade. College completion has been a tremendous focus for years, from stakeholders including higher education leaders, associations like AASCU, and federal and state government policymakers, with a big assist from the foundation community. The nation’s public universities are utilizing a multitude of academic and student support services to improve student outcomes, and this work has led to increased graduation rates at many institutions.
The nation’s public universities are not factories. They deliver and champion one of the most important and sacred missions that buttress our nation’s democracy and its social and economic prosperity: helping people from all backgrounds realize their full potential. Universally panning what is the most cost-efficient sector of American higher education with a headline-grabbing, yet misleading report, will at a minimum only serve to scare off first generation and low-income students whose aspirations are critical to ensuring a more prosperous nation.
Daniel J. Hurley is the chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of State Universities.
