Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, February 19, 2014
(UNDATED) - The first study on college completion rates in Indiana tell us what we mostly already knew - the rates are low.
Only about 30-percent of students at the state's four-year public colleges and universities finish school within four years, and only half get their degree within six years according to the Indiana College Completion Reports.
"This report, unlike other reports, shows that students are completing in many different ways, but the on-time completion rates are troubling to all of us," says Teresa Lubbers, the state's Commissioner for Higher Education.
Fewer than one out of ten students at Indiana's two-year colleges get their degree in two years, according to the report.
The study does not delve into reasons for the low completion rate. Instead, Lubbers says it is a baseline report that only includes data from the state's public colleges and universities - private school data was not included.
The commission has set goals to have 45-percent of Indiana residents to hold some sort of college degree by 2018, with that number rising to 60-percent by 2025. It's around 30-percent right now.
Lubbers says their data shows that taking longer to graduate costs the students money, as well as the state.
There is also a racial and ethnic gap in graduation rates. Minorities graduate at a rate that is 24-percentage points lower at Indiana's two-year colleges and 31-percentage points lower at four-year schools.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.