THE CHRONICLE
of Higher Education®
chronicle.com
;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; ;;;;;
Volume LVIII, Number 27
Do Graduation
T;;;;; ;;;;;; ;;;; President Obama issued a challenge to American higher education:
Graduate more students so that by
2020, the United States might have
Rates Matter?
While the public and politicians clamor
for accountability, many in higher
education see a deeply flawed measure
; A new Web
site presents the
numbers, puts
them in context,
and allows
you to
compare
rates across
the nation.
chronicle.
com.
; The federal
rate started
out as way to
measure athletes’
academic
success. Now
the formula
has been
stretched to try
to ;t a student
body that’s
growing less
traditional all
the time. A10
; Who’s getting
left out? Meet
seven students,
like Rob Rock
(below), who are
attending college
on their own
terms—and who
won’t be showing
up in the
of;cial
calcula-
tions of
graduation
rates. A10
; Ditch the
numbers
and focus
on individual
students. Look
at numbers, but
look at different
ones. Or maybe
graduation isn’t
really what
we should be
worrying about
at all. Experts
offer their takes
on the grad-rate
conundrum. A16
the highest portion of college gradu-
ates in the world.
Mr. Obama joined a slew of governors and private foundations in pressing colleges to improve their graduation rates. Those numbers, ;rst collected by the federal government in the
mid-1990s as a tool for students and
families evaluating
their college choices,
quickly evolved into
SPECIAL REPORT
a gauge of academic quality and a driv-
er of policy. Yet many in higher edu-
cation believe the way graduation rates
are counted is deeply ;awed and have
essentially discredited the measurement
almost from Day One. Those who do
well advertise it, while those who per-
form poorly explain why the measure-
ment is faulty.
In a special report and on a new
Web site that The Chronicle has created as a window on this issue, we
explore who graduates from college,
who doesn’t, and why it matters.
Page A10
DALE WETZEL, AP IMAGES
Rep. Al Carlson, House majority leader in the North Dakota legislature, is
seeking greater legislative oversight of the state’s universities. A4
INSIDE
The Sad Case of the ‘Stupid Drunk’ ;
The high-pro;le murder trial of a University
of Virginia athlete puts a spotlight on
alcohol abuse among college students. A3
‘Predatory’ Online Journals Lure
Scholars Who Are Eager to Publish
B; M;;;;;; S;;;;;;;;
A;;;;;;;;;;;;;;, an associ- ate dean at Louisiana State University’s Manship School
of Mass Communication, had never
heard of the Journal of Mass Com-
munication and Journalism when
she ;rst received an e-mail solicit-
ing submissions for it. But she took
a quick look at the journal’s Web
site, recognized some friends and
colleagues on its editorial board,
and sent a note about the publishing
opportunity to all of her school’s
graduate students.
Union Battles ;
An effort to organize
research assistants at
U. of Michigan. A26
Facing the Past ;
Can the German model
work for Central
Europe? Section B
The Chronicle Review
A WEEKLYMAGAZINEOFIDEAS The ChronicleofHigher Education Section B March9,2012
