Fewer students finish degrees in 5 years p1 - Military - College News and Information - Military Times EDGE

College enrollments have been on the rise for decades, but the proportion of students who earn a bachelor’s degree within five years has stagnated at about 52 percent, down from 55 percent in 1988, according to a report last fall by the College Board, owner of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Some of those left behind eventually graduate. Others drop out.

Federal and state policymakers increasingly use graduation rates as one measure of a school’s effectiveness. Governors of several states, including Arizona, Ohio and Michigan, are vowing to produce more graduates to meet future work-force demands.

Colleges are responding, some by recruiting adult students who already have some college credits. Three states — Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kentucky — have launched such initiatives, which often stress conveniences such as speedy registration. These adults “almost have a college degree in hand,” said Sue Patrick, who directs Kentucky’s program, which targets 11,000 adults who are 75 percent of the way toward graduating.

(Originally published Sept. 29, 2008)