Va. colleges’ graduation rates higher than U.S. average

A national survey of college graduation rates gives high marks to James Madison University, the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia. But the University of Richmond doesn't fare as well in the report.

The American Enterprise Institute study of 1,385 four-year schools found that on average 53 percent of freshmen graduate within six years. Virginia schools were slightly higher than the national average with a state rate of 56.7 percent. And the national average would climb to about 60 percent if transfer students were included.

The report, "Diplomas and Dropouts: Which Colleges Actually Graduate Their Students (and Which Don't)," found wide variation in the graduation rates among schools with similar admission standards.

That comparison is why UR, with a graduation rate of 86 percent, and JMU, which graduates 81 percent, were ranked at opposite ends of their respective categories.

The report used data on graduation rates from the U.S. Department of Education and divided schools into six categories, from "noncompetitive" to "most competitive," based on Barron's Profiles of American Colleges.

"Noncompetitive" schools on average have a 35 percent graduation rate, while the "most competitive" graduate 88 percent, the report found.

Admission to JMU is listed as "very competitive," and its graduation rate put it among the top schools in that category. It holds the No.1 spot in regional rankings and is fifth nationally. The University of Mary Washington, with a graduation rate of 76 percent, ranked third in the category and Eastern Mennonite University, at 71 percent, ranked fifth.

UR, U.Va. and W&M are two levels up, in the highest of the six categories -- "most competitive."

U.Va., with a graduation rate of 93 percent, tied for second place with Davidson College regionally, behind Duke University. W&M, with a 91 percent rate, tied with Vanderbilt University for fourth in that category.

UR, however, was fourth among the bottom five top-tier Southern schools.

UR Provost Stephen Allred noted its graduation rate "far surpasses that of the vast majority" of schools and does not take into account that students who do leave continue their studies elsewhere.

"They leave to be closer to home, to attend a larger or urban institution, or to study something that we don't offer. They're not college dropouts," he said by e-mail.

Also rising to the top in regional rankings among "competitive" schools are Sweet Briar College, with a graduation rate of 71 percent and Hollins University with a 69 percent rate.

Graduation rates, especially disparities within categories, should factor into a student's decision on where to attend college, said Mark Schneider, an author of the report to be released today.

In a telephone conference yesterday, he said the findings give context to President Barack Obama's plans to spend $500 million over the next five years to improve graduation rates. Obama has pledged that by 2020 the United States will regain its status of having the highest proportion of college graduates.

The study analyzed the institutional graduation rate within six years for full-time, first-time freshmen who entered a four-year institution of higher education in the fall of 2001.

But those figures, which colleges are required to report to the National Center for Education Statistics to receive federal student financial aid, do not include transfer students.

That means the total graduation rate for some schools could be about 8 percent higher, raising the individual graduation rate average to about 60 percent, said Mark Schneider, the center's former commissioner.

"We know that these are flawed, but they're the only ones we have," he said of the numbers.

Frederick M. Hess, AEI's director of education policy studies, said the report does not suggest that a higher graduation rate indicates a better college or that schools should "give away diplomas like candy."

But students, particularly those entering less competitive colleges, go deeply into debt to get a diploma they view as a ticket to a better life, he said.

At many of those schools, students have only a one-in-three chance of earning a degree for which they may owe thousands of dollars.

Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or .