Administrators look for ways to help students graduate on time

Students graduating from IU might sometimes feel like just a number, but administrators are looking past the graduation rates to determine how the University can graduate more students on time -- within six years.\nIU ranks fourth in retention statistics compared to other universities with similar characteristics, according to a report released by the national education program Education Trust.\nAmong the students who started school at IU in 1997, 71.8 percent of them graduated by 2003, the six-year standard generally used when determining graduation statistics for traditional, four-year universities. \nHowever, "underrepresented minorities" at IU do not fare as well, with only 55.8 percent graduating between 1997 and 2003, 17 percent less than the number of whites that graduate in the same time frame.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said the University looks at "phases of student life" to determine what affects the possibility of graduation for a student. To keep graduation rates high and discover areas that need improvement, the University looks at a student's social and educational experiences, in and out of the classroom, particularly during the freshman year.\nEdwardo Rhodes, director of student development and diversity, said the reason students aren't graduating mostly involves social factors.\n"The reason students don't graduate isn't because they fail a certain number of classes," Rhodes said.\nThough the university doesn't fare as well in the graduation rates for minorities, Rhodes said the report is just a "one-time snapshot" and graduation rates for minority students are significantly better, although there is always room for improvement.\n"Twenty years ago we were happy (underrepresented minorities) were even here," Rhodes said. "But over the last five to 10 years, (graduation rates) have improved." \nRhodes said a major factor affecting graduation deals more with "getting adjusted here."\nAdjusting to college life is an element of success the University pays close attention to, for all groups of students. As Rhodes says, the University seems to lose the most students between their freshman and sophomore years. That time period, along with the period between sophomore and junior years, are highly studied.\nMcKaig said the University has focused on increasing academic support, developing Freshman Interest Groups, strategizing freshman orientation to approach academic issues and concerns and improving advising services to help students make it through the first few years. Recognizing courses that freshmen seem to have the most difficulty in has resulted in restructuring certain courses to give students a better chance of completing degree requirements.\n"If we help students feel comfortable here, they may be more successful in the classroom," McKaig said.\nRay Smith, executive director of instructional support services, chairs the Campus Retention and Graduation Committee that provides a forum for the collaboration of efforts to improve graduation and retention rates.\nSmith said the social factors affecting whether a student graduates include how well the student performs academically, whether a student feels engaged with the campus, how finances are being taken care of (if financial aid is covering expenses), whether a student likes where he or she lives, and if a student feels engaged or challenged by professors in a good way.\n"(The University) breaks down and intervenes in those dominions," Smith said.\nThough the concentration on all students' progress toward graduation is concentrated in the freshman and sophomore levels for all student groups, Smith also said the university is "focusing on students from historically underrepresented groups."\nRegardless of numbers and statistics, Smith said IU is "doing pretty well, and striving to do more."\n"Compared to schools with more stringent entrance requirements, (IU) competes very well in retention and graduation," Smith said. "Rather than just let students walk in the Sample Gates and perhaps walk out in four to six years, we are intentionally articulating the expectations of the faculty."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ashley Lough at amlough@indiana.edu.