TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

USF Pays Lip Service To Awarding Four-Year Degrees In Four Years

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

The question might sound a little like "Guess who's buried in Grant's tomb?" But really, how long should it take to get a four-year college degree?

Too often, the answer is six years.

Six years is understandable for students who work full-time. But Florida universities seem to have given up the goal of graduating full-time students in four years - a systemic failure that is bad for families, businesses and taxpayers.

Only the University of Florida has a four-year graduation rate above 50 percent.

At the University of South Florida, which no longer considers itself a commuter school, the four-year rate is an anemic 21 percent.

Indeed, USF's strategic plan doesn't even set a goal for its four-year graduation rate. Yet as business people know, what gets measured gets done.

Instead, USF is focused on its six-year rate, which stands at a dismal 48 percent.

A few months back, we asked USF President Judy Genshaft why her strategic scorecard fails to address graduating more students in four years. After all, she had just campaigned for a tuition increase saying it would generate more class offerings, which would allow more students to graduate in four years.

Genshaft said six years is the national standard.

But doesn't USF want to rise above the pack?

USF Board of Trustees member John Ramil, a top executive of Tampa Electric Co., said he thought a four-year measure made sense, given the promises Genshaft made in selling Tallahassee on the tuition increase.

Yet months later, USF's strategic scorecard shows no focus on improving the four-year rate.

Lawmakers should remember this dropped ball the next time the university asks for more money.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush recently spoke about college graduation rates when he received an award from the Manhattan Institute for his work in education reform. Bush noted that half of the nation's 18 and 19-year-olds go to college, and 60 percent graduate in six years.

"It's interesting that in our so-called great university system, we measure how long it takes for full-time students to graduate with a four-year degree in six years," Bush told the audience. "I would have thought it would be in four years, but that would have been an even uglier number and significantly lower than 60 percent."

Bush's criticism was pointed, and raises the question of why he failed to hold the university system to a higher standard during his eight years in office.

The federal government hasn't helped, either. The U.S. Department of Education contributes to the problem by only asking universities to report their six-year graduation rate. Congress should raise the bar.
Florida universities won't become more efficient until they judge themselves by public expectations.

People expect Grant to be buried in his tomb and they expect college students to earn a four-year degree in four years.

It's time for an accurate, public measure.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT