Only 16 percent of Utah public college and university students who enroll full time at in-state, four-year programs actually graduate four years later, a national study of college-completion rates has found.
Give the same group another two years, and you'll get an extra 24 graduates per 100 original enrollees. Double the original four years to eight, and you'll get eight additional grads, for a total of 48 graduates per 100 enrollees.
And the graduation numbers are lower for part-time students working toward a four-year degree. For every 100 who enroll, just 25 will have degrees eight years later.
"Nationally, half the students don't complete their B.A., and the numbers are dramatically worse when you look at low-income and minority groups," said Dominique Raymond, spokeswoman for Complete College America, the nonprofit group that did the national study, which included data from only 33 states.
"Students don't finish because life gets in the way."
Many universities set up their programs for the students of earlier generations. Those students' parents paid for tuition, food and housing, which allowed the students to focus and finish on time.
But student enrollment today includes many more people who are holding down full-time jobs, who have families that require their attention and who are struggling to pay their own tuition, Raymond said.
"Higher education in the United States has made terrific strides in terms of access," she said. "Now it's an issue of success and completion."
Students who don't complete their certificate programs, associate or bachelor's degrees leave school without the career advantages that come with a degree, but they often carry tuition debt.
According to figures provided by the state of Utah, 38 percent of Utahns currently hold an associate degree or higher. By 2020, 68 percent of Utah jobs are expected to require a career certificate or college degree.
"Competition is an issue across the country," Raymond said. "In general, global competitiveness and the economic downturn have made higher education more and more a part of the solution."
On a state level, Gov. Gary Herbert in 2010 created an Education Excellence Commission with a goal that 66 percent of Utahns ages 20 to 64 would have post-secondary degrees or professional certification by 2020.
His suggestions include taking steps to ensure literacy by third grade, lengthening kindergarten hours to the full school day, "... and matching classroom instruction to real-world jobs -- especially in the areas of science, engineering and math," Herbert said in a statement posted at www.utah.gov/governor/priorities/education.html.
"This extraordinary goal of 66 percent by 2020 is indeed ambitious, and it will not be accomplished overnight," Herbert's statement continues.
"But we must be bold and we must begin now."
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