Racial gaps are another concern. Overall, the federal figures report 57 percent of White students finish their degree, compared with 44 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of Blacks. A 2004 Education Trust report found a quarter of schools have gaps between Whites and Blacks of 20 points or more.
While student responsibility is a factor, ``an awful lot of institutions just assumed that getting them in the door was the most important thing,'' said Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust.
Now, both Haycock and Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, say there are signs that is changing. Graduation rates are on the agenda of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings' new national commission on higher education. There is growing research on how colleges can get students more involved in campus life, which makes them more likely to stay enrolled. And Callan says some state legislatures, even in the face of pressure to increase capacity, are exploring budget incentives for schools to improve graduation rates, not just increase enrollment.
``But you have to do it carefully, because if you put all the incentives on completion then you just encourage colleges to cherry pick the population'' of students most likely to graduate, Callan said. ``There's already too much of that.''
– Associated Press
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