University of Iowa sees rise in four-year graduates

Two years have passed since University of Iowa's four-year graduation rate topped 50 percent, and that number - pursued by institutions nationally in efforts to curb student debt - is continuing to rise.

A new Board of Regents report issued Friday shows the UI four-year graduation rate has reached 53.5 percent - the highest in recent history and up from 50.9 percent last year. Four-year rates at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa also are up, but more modestly, with ISU hitting 43.6 percent from 43.2 percent and UNI edging up to nearly 40 percent from 39.2 percent.

The universities did not fare as well in one-year retention rates, according to the new report. UNI dropped to 80.1 percent, nearly 5 percentage points below last year's 84.7 percent and their lowest level in at least a decade. UI's retention rate also dropped - moving from 86.1 percent last year to 85.4 percent, its lowest level in five years, according to the regent report.

UNI spokesman Scott Ketelsen said UNI's retention rates consistently exceed national peers, and preliminary data indicates those numbers will rebound next year.

'The most important reference point is how UNI compares to the national average,” he said.

Iowa State was the only among the three to see an increase in one-year retention rates, moving from 86.4 percent to 87 percent - although variances among the universities' academic probation policies make those numbers difficult to compare.

ISU, for example, allows students to earn a grade-point average below 2.0 for three semesters before dismissal, while UI dismisses students for subpar performance after two semesters, according to the policies of those schools. UNI, like UI, dismisses students for poor performance after two semesters - unless they are in their first semester, and then they get three semesters before suspension.

Dave Holger, associate provost for academic programs at Iowa State, said the different types of students each university attracts also makes comparison difficult.

'You are looking at different populations of students,” Holger said. 'At the University of Iowa, there is a huge number who are in the liberal arts. At Iowa State, half of our undergrads are in the STEM disciplines. That mix is a lot different.”

But all three universities have initiatives geared toward ensuring students return for a second year, including orientation programming, counseling contacts, and 'living learning communities,” which embed students in social or academic groups in their first year.

UI recently became the first institution of its kind to require everyone living in a residence hall - which is the majority of freshmen - to join an 'LLC.” At Iowa State, students involved in the institution's 'learning community initiative” have better one-year retention and six-year graduation rates than those who aren't - by 6 percent and nearly 10 percent, respectively.

'We have been trying more and more to coordinate efforts to leverage what we are doing to help students be successful and graduate,” Holger said. 'To some extent, it appears to be working.”

Despite the individual declines in one-year retention rates, the combined rate for the three regent universities was 85.4 percent, above the national average of 78.6 percent for public four-year colleges, according to the new report.

And all three of Iowa's public universities saw improvement in six-year graduation rates - that is the percent of students who started in fall 2009 and graduated by 2015. In fact, they each reached or surpassed a 10-year high - with UI reporting 72.1 percent of its students graduating within 6 years, a 2.1 percentage point jump from last year; ISU reporting 71.4 percent, a 2.5 percentage point bump; and UNI reaching 67.6 percent, a 3.8 percentage point increase.

'The time to degree is influenced by a number of factors, including major sought, parents' education, change of major, and grade-point average,” according to the report.

The regent schools are ahead of the national average in both four-year and six-year graduation rates, with the six-year graduation average for Iowa's regent universities at 70.9 percent compared with 55.7 percent for public four-year colleges nationally. The regent universities' four-year graduation average is 46 percent compared with 31.6 percent nationally.

UI officials cite numerous efforts in driving up the four-year graduation rate, including implementing three-year degree plans in six majors and offering a Summer Hawk Tuition Grant to help students stay on track with summer courses.