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Improving College Graduation Rate

All around the world, it is every scholar’s dream to study to the highest levels of learning and graduate. The act of graduating from institutions of higher learning is not just a simple event, rather it is a major milestone that earmarks the culmination of an individual’s dedicated effort years and hours of study. Every graduate undergoes training and equipment with skills. Therefore, the graduating event signifies that the student has satisfied the examiners and other major stakeholders to be accorded the power to read and do what is appertained to his or her area of specialization. Despite the high respect accorded to the graduation event from institutions of higher learning, not all students who yearn to graduate actualize their dreams. Midway through the college learning process some students halt their studies due to various reasons thus reduce the number of students that graduate. This essay looks into some of the major causes leading to lower levels of graduation, the causative factors, remedies and proposes ways in which colleges can increase their graduation rate.

            To better determine the weight of the alarming concerns, it is important to understand what colleges and institutions of higher learning entail so that one can understand the weight of low graduation rate on the society at large. Higher education is a general term that is used to refer to post-secondary school education and training. Higher education is also referred to as tertiary or third level education that occurs after one has passed through the primary and secondary levels of education, (Wilkins, 2018). This is an optional formal learning stage offered by universities, colleges, institutes, and academies. It can further be classified as type A (undergraduate) and type B (graduate and postgraduate) depending on the qualification that is attained at the end of the training.

 It is through colleges and other institutions of higher learning that society gains experts and qualified professionals within relevant fields. It is therefore imperative of society to ensure that colleges produce highly trained and qualified graduates on a regular basis to avert a situation of labor crisis. The sad fact, however, is that in as much as the number of students graduating from colleges is on the rise. The increase happens in a decreasing manner. This statement can be validated by checking the number of college enrollment against the number of the same lot that graduates at the lapse of the training period. According to Jeffrey (2018), in his article in the Washington Post June 8 release, less than forty percent (40%) of the students who enroll for the first time to train for a four-year degree in college as well as community colleges graduate. In his findings, approximately close to more than half of the students that start college drop out before completion. From these statistics, it is therefore imperative that there is a major challenge that needs to be addressed before the society comes crumbling down.

            According to the American Bureau of labor and statistics, in the year 2016, the number of female high school graduates that enrolled in college was at 71.9%, and the number of male high school graduates enrolling in college was at 67.4% (Brint, 2016). From these figures, it is evident that the enrolment levels into the tertiary institutions are quite substantial. At the time of the research, it was projected that only slightly more than half of the population that enrolled would stay through the entire learning period and graduate. In the United States, there were about 3.1 million students that graduated. Out of all this number, about 2.2 million representing 69.7% transitioned to college, (U.S. Department of Labor, 2016). The figure was higher than the previous year as shown in the table below. However as earlier mentioned despite the increased enrolment, and the number of the students that graduate, the number of students that drop-out has also been on a steep rise

            Having analyzed the relevant statistics, it is imperative to understand some of the root causes of massive dropout by students from colleges and other institutions of higher learning. One of the major limiting factors that have been linked to massive dropout is financial constraints. Tuition fees and student debts have skyrocketed in the past few years leading to some students to drop out of college before graduating. Despite providing some of the best training and skill equipment programmes to students compared to other nations of the world, the tuition fees charged in the United States colleges and Universities are way too costly and most average income families may not be able to raise the tuition fees required consistently. 

 Additionally, college life, especially in the United States, is quite expensive, this necessitates the choice by students to seek student loans so that they can have a smooth stay while at the colleges. According to Jeffrey (2018), children from wealthy families are most likely to graduate as compared to those from low-income families. He highlights that the probability of children from wealthy backgrounds to get a bachelor’s degree before 24 years is a chance of one in two. However, their counterparts from low-income households have a probability of 1 in 17.

 Indulgence in drug and substance abuse has also been attributed to the rise in the number of students that drop out of college. Universities and colleges have for a long period of time been treated as centres for self-discovery. It is in these institutions of learning that students learn autonomy. However, it the journey to self-discovery, some of the students get involved in some reckless behavior due to peer influences and end up abusing drugs and other substances. Drug and substance abuse reduces the mental capabilities to focus and concentrate and keep up with studies (Pervin, 2015). These lifestyle leads to low grades below the thresholds and eventually termination of learning to severe effects from drug and substance abuse.

            Another major factor that causes students to drop out of college is the selection of wrong career choices. Due to the lack of adequate exposure and skill identification, a good number of high school graduates end up selecting the wrong career paths.  When such incidences occur, the involved students tend to develop a poor attitude towards learning and they eventually drop out to pursue other interest that is suitable to their skill sets. Changing career choices with the colleges can be difficult; the process involved in shifting courses is both time consuming and expensive to go through successfully.

            Peer pressure and influence from other influential figures in society have been attributed to the lower rate of graduation rate within colleges. Some of the influential tech-savvy individuals in the United States dropped out of University to work on their dreams, and they succeeded in building multi-billion dollar companies. Consequently, other students with similar ideas tend to follow the precedent and drop out of college to pursue their own innovations. Whether the innovations work out or not, this trend affects the total number of students, that graduate at the end of the training period. Peer influence happens when friends struggling friends are unable to cope and drop out of college. Consequently, they motivate other students of similar circumstances to quit college since they feel out of place, have low grades or are from financially unstable backgrounds. 

 It is not only student-initiated factors that lead to college dropouts. However, there are other factors within reach or outside the control of students that necessitate the halting of college education before graduation time. Some of the factors include chronic health issues, institutional regulations and the cost of living within the college environment. Student debt also demotivates a majority of the American Students from pursuing a college education. Due to the high cost of living that high-risk students have to endure, they are forced to borrow heavily from the student loans fund to cater for their college needs outside tuition. Finally, institutional policies on the grading and student appraisal contribute to the reduced number of students that graduate. Even though this is a minor issue, discontinuation of student due to institutional policies on academic conduct or otherwise leads to a reduced number of college graduates.

            From the various causative factors, several measures can be put in place to improve the college graduation rate. One of the key factors to note however is that there has to be willingness commitment by the various stakeholders to actualize this goal. Some of the key strategies that can be implemented to increase the college graduation rate are the increase in tuition subsidies to public universities and colleges around the world. Governments have the power to inject more money into the education sector to subsidize the costs otherwise incurred by the students and their families, (Altbach, 2019). Higher education, especially in the United States, costs a lot of Money that students from low-income families find it difficult to raise. Consequently, government intervention can lower these expense allowing all students to complete their studies and graduate successfully.

 Secondly, sponsorship of bright students, as well as talented ones, can help increase the graduation rate. Full education scholarships ensure that students do not have to worry about their academic expenses and just need to concentrate on their studies, (Altbach, 2019). There is a very low rate of termination of studies by students under scholarship schemes. The private sector and other no-profit organizations are encouraged to revamp their efforts to provide scholarships to needy and deserving students. Bill Gates, a world renown technology Entrepreneur is a good example of how people in the private sector can contribute towards the increase in the number of college graduates. Gates identifies the efforts of institutions of higher learning that work to ensure all its students’ graduate, (Amos, 2008). Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropist has provided scholarships to students and thus boosted the number of students that graduate from college.

            Institutions of higher learning such as the Universities can also contribute greatly towards increasing the number of students that graduate from college. some of the ways to actualize this measure looking past the challenges and providing assistance programmes for all students to fit in and have a comfortable life while studying in colleges. Georgia State University is one such institution, (Amos, 2008) that does not discriminate or filter the kind of students that are admitted into the University. The Institution’s policy provides for admission to students from all walks of life. Consequently, it has put in place mechanisms to improve the graduation rate by listening to student challenges and providing small grants to financially struggling students to ensure that they do not drop out of their studies midway before completion. Such a move depicts the immense power that colleges and other institutions of higher learning have towards improving the graduation rate.

            Increasing student loans and grants by state and other financial institutions is another key strategy towards improving the rate of graduation in institutions of higher learning. Besides the tuition requirements, students also need funding for the purchase of academic materials, payment of accommodation and generally surviving the college life. As a result, an increase in the number of funds allocated to students can help sustain their academic and non-academic needs, (Altbach 2019). Aside from the financial requirements, colleges and other higher learning institutions need to invest adequately on the orientation programmes and provide counselling and training programmes for students, (Mikedaki et al., 2016). Many students opt out of school due to improper channels of communication and assistance services. some of the reasons for college dropouts can be prevented by simple measures such as a guidance and counselling backed up with adequate follow up.

            In conclusion, it is prudent to note that higher learning has its fair share of challenges. However, through the application of the right mitigation measures., the rate of graduation from colleges will significantly increase. The most important aspect that affects the rate of graduation is financing. Be it for tuition, accommodation, study materials or even the student loans, improvement in this area as recommended above will increase the graduation rate. Additionally, incorporation of student views into the management planning of higher institutions will play a major role in increasing the graduation rate as demonstrated by Georgia State University. It is therefore prudent for government and other major stakeholders to subsidize, provide loans, grants and scholarships to ensure that more students graduate. Management of colleges and universities should also incorporate student views for inclusivity and provision of an adequate learning environment for the students.