UW-Madison Improves Four-Year Graduation Rate

Every fall thousands of freshman students arrive on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus excited to pursue degrees in more than 150 different majors.

In 2003, undergraduates had a 42.4 percent chance of completing these degrees within four years. By 2009, the odds increased to 52.4 percent, according to the UW-Madison Office of Academic Planning & Analysis.

For the last 10 years, university administrators and staff have been focused on undergraduate education and have articulated a goal to improve graduation rates, says Jocelyn Milner, director of the Office of Academic Planning & Analysis.

“It’s good stewardship of public funding and the tuition dollars that students and their families spend to put together a quality educational experience,” Milner says, in explaining why the university made graduation rates a priority.   

Although many factors affect how long students take to graduate, continuous enrollment, taking an average of 15 credits per semester and first semester success in college are particularly important in helping students complete undergraduate degrees within four years, Milner says.

While timely degree completion is important, UW-Madison is even more focused on fostering student success and providing an overall meaningful educational experience.

“There is a goal for graduation, but in fact the most direct goal may not be the best goal because it does foster a kind of check-off/check-the-box mentality in how to approach your education,” says UW-Madison Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Aaron Brower.

According to Brower, it can often be difficult to strike a balance between helping students take advantage of all the opportunities available in college, and having them graduate on time, especially as the cost of higher education continues to rise.

The most effective strategies to decrease time-to-degree are those that move students forward on their degree paths while simultaneously enriching their time spent on campus, Brower says.

Programs such First-Year Interest Groups and Residential Learning Communities, for example, are specifically designed to promote first semester success. By giving students opportunities to take groups of classes together, or to live in specifically designed learning communities, these programs give students the academic and social support necessary to succeed. Students are also encouraged to participate in study abroad programs, undergraduate research, honors courses and internships.

Emily Dickmann, a senior advisor with UW-Madison’s Cross College Advising Service, says she understands the need or desire for some students to complete their college degrees as quickly as possible.  However, students who graduate after three-and-a-half years are not necessarily better equipped for the world than those who take five years to graduate, she says.

“If you’re [going to college] just for the piece of paper without some good in-depth thought, I think the time is kind of irrelevant,” Dickmann says.

Milner agrees, arguing that in some cases, delayed graduation may be worth the extra time spent in school.  For example, engineering programs often provide valuable learning opportunities in the form of co-ops, which allow students to take time off of school to engage in real-world job experiences and get paid for their work.

It is usually better for students to earn degrees in subjects that they are passionate about rather than settling for a less-satisfying degree path as part of an attempt to get out of school within four years, Milner says.

Ultimately, however, university administrators and staff seem to agree that while timely degree completion remains a hot topic in today’s society, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is committed to helping students graduate without shortchanging them of any valuable college experiences.