States give failing grade to graduation rates

For decades, college gates have opened wider and wider to the American public, with more whites and minorities attending than ever before. But that expansion is under strain in the face of rising costs and faster growth of minority populations long left behind in the march to graduation.

A new report released Monday from the National Conference of State Legislatures sounds the alarm: For every 100 ninth graders, only 18 will enter college and finish within six years.

"These results simply are not good enough," concludes the report, which was compiled by a bipartisan commission over 18 months.

To help more students earn diplomas, higher education and the states that oversee much of the system need to tackle spiraling tuition, poor college preparation, and the lack of help to keep students moving toward a degree, say experts.

"Colleges have to take seriously the responsibility for graduating the kids they admit," says Thomas Mortenson, an analyst with the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. "And if they don't, maybe they ought to pick up the student loan burden of the people who don't finish."

The report lays much of the blame at the ballooning price of a bachelor's degree, which is more than double the rate of inflation. For example, over the past five years, average tuition has climbed 35 percent, adjusted for inflation, at four-year public colleges, according to the College Board in New York. Inflation rose 13.8 percent over the same period.

Two-thirds of college students must borrow money to pay for their education. Loan debt by student borrowers at public colleges jumped from $8,000 10 years ago to $17,250, according to inflation-adjusted figures from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

States such as Indiana, Georgia, and Oklahoma are taking steps to aid college students and their families. And reducing the student-loan rate is an "early action" item on the agenda for the Democratic-controlled Congress.

And there are some positive trends. Graduation rates for those who start college are finally inching up after years of setbacks, says Mr. Mortenson. And the share of Americans with postsecondary degrees is higher across all major ethnic categories.

But it's taking students a longer time on average to complete degrees, and the process is saddling them with more and more debt. "The state is short-changed on its return on investment in these students," says the NCSL report.

States have significant control over higher education – and a real economic interest in its success. Wisconsin spends roughly $1 billion on its university system, which generates $10 billion annually to the state's economy, according to a University of Wisconsin report.

Across the country, higher education boosts tax revenues, cuts dependence on welfare, and boosts community service among other social benefits, according to the Institute for Higher Education Policy in Washington.

Despite the payoffs, states have cut back their commitment to higher education, according to the NCSL, shifting more of the burden to those paying tuition.

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