In the last issue of The Horizon a story about Advising Week included an interesting statistic.
Janie Spitznagel, Academic Success Center adviser, said the graduation rate at IU Southeast is approximately 30 percent. I had trouble wrapping my mind around the concept of so many people not finishing school.
Keep in mind the other 70 percent doesn’t completely drop out of college. Many people transfer to other schools, which is understandable — IU Southeast is not prestigious, even if you hear so in a speech.
Spitznagel also said the IUS graduation rate is actually higher than other regional IU campuses and about the same as other peer institutions.
However, even though the 30 percent graduation rate can be justified by saying many people transfer out, I think this school’s rate is way too low. Would it be acceptable if the U.S. literacy rate was 30 percent?
While not everyone is cut out for college—and no one needs a college degree to live—I still think the low graduation rate says something about the work ethic of the people who leave. I believe people should finish what they start, even if it gets tough.
Think about this.
Out of all the things you could be doing, why are you here in the first place? Why did you choose to come to IU Southeast?
I bet the answer for most people is to get a better job. When it comes down to it, the phrase, “Show me the money!,” is appropriate.
Not every career has high-earning potential. Some people don’t go into a field to make money, especially considering how little some careers pay.
Journalism is a shining example of this.
College is a choice. If someone chooses to come here, but doesn’t finish, that’s up to them.
All I want to say is there should be more of an incentive to learn and stay at IU Southeast.
As a suggestion, there should be more awareness about the school’s help centers.
If someone is dropping a class just because they don’t understand the material, they should first know they can reach out for help and get it, for free.
Students could go to The Writing Center, the Math Lab or the Center for Mentoring, just to name a few. These offer free help to all students.
Tutoring outside of school is expensive for most people. I would know. I’m a private tutor for middle and high school students. I charge $17.50 an hour, and that rate is low compared to other tutoring companies.
I think every struggling student should take the time to get free help that’s available on campus. Never pass up free assistance.
Another suggestion is for the professors to put less of an emphasis on grades. Realistically, that won’t happen, but it’s a good idea. There are students who will tell you they dropped a class just because they didn’t want to fail it.
One of my closest friends decided to drop his English W290 class last week.
It surprises me how people are still dropping classes this far into the semester.
If you’re this far into the semester, just ride it out and finish.
I also think the administration should do more to attract students.
There has been one step in the right direction.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education offered a waiver for college applications for graduating high school seniors.
The problem with this is it’s only available to Indiana residents, and the fee waiver only lasts for a week.
I don’t think the application is expensive enough to keep people away from college. If they really wanted to go to college, they would pay the fee and risk not getting in.
Now, if they offered a tuition decrease or a rebate for applying during a certain week, I think a lot more people would start signing up for school.
It’s hard to say if they would stay in school, but that may show people that there is help when it comes to paying for college.
I’m sure there has been a lot of talk at the upper levels of IUS administration on how to keep students here.
I want to know what they’ve come up with. It should be as clear as day. I want them to show me why this is the best place I can be.
A 30 percent graduation rate suggests the majority don’t think IU Southeast is worthwhile.
That’s a problem.
By JOSEPH DEVER
Editor
jwdever@ius.edu