Speaking about graduation rates

University Business, Sept, 2004 by Gregory Mahler

[Re: August Editor's Note, "The Dismal State of Graduation Rates"] I actually found much in your column about which to be positive, primarily because of my perspective of someone at an institution that does much better than the situation you describe. As a general rule, the small liberal arts college in the United States today is doing a much better job of retention and graduation than the data you reported, and I wish that you had indicated this to be the case. If you look at the graduation rates of most of the first- and second-tier small liberal arts colleges reported in the U.S. News ranking, for example, you'll see that they're doing considerably better than the six year graduation rate of 60 percent that you cite. I think that this is because it is too easy for a student to "become lost" at a larger university; the attention that students receive at smaller institutions does, indeed, pay off.

Your message was very important: the Larger IHEs have to do a much better job than they currently do of retaining students and seeing them through to graduation. I hope that your words will generate some action to this end nationwide.

GREGORY MAHLER, Provost

Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo, MI