UNL grad rates up, UNO's down

LINCOLN -- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Kearney boosted students' six-year graduation rates last year, but the same could not be said for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

At UNL, 66.6 percent of first-time, full-time students who enrolled in 2005 graduated in six years an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the 2010 rate. After a slight dip in 2010, UNK's rate increased 3 percentage points, to 60.6 percent.

For UNO, graduation rates dipped 1.8 percentage points, to 43 percent, a difference that amounts to about 30 students.

University leaders Friday outlined and updated the NU Board of Regents on the graduation trends at each of the three University of Nebraska campuses with the highest concentrations of undergraduate students.

Institutional data showed 10-year trends for UNL, UNO and UNK climbing, but NU President J.B. Milliken emphasized that more work must be done.

“That's not the end of our story. . . . We need to do better,” he said.

The six-year graduation rate measures how many first-time, full-time undergraduates earn degrees from a school in six years. Many university officials consider the number the best representation of how schools fare graduating students. The measure excludes transfer students, international students and those who enter in the spring.

Officials from the three NU institutions said initiatives are in place or coming to help more students graduate faster.

In September 2011, regents approved the 120-hour degree proposal, an NU systemwide standard requiring departments to whittle their undergraduate programs to 120 credit hours. Under the standard, a student taking 15 credit hours a semester should be able to graduate in four years.

Independently, UNO officials are considering an expansion of summer course offerings so students who cannot afford a full 15-credit course load can keep making progress.

Starting next fall, UNL will unveil its MyPLAN program. The electronic records system will help track student performance grades and attendance and foster better communication between faculty, advisers and students.

UNL officials hope the program helps them better identify at-risk students, improve retention and boost graduation rates.

In addition to appointing a graduation task force, UNK leaders have placed more emphasis on the first year of college and orientation, increasing contact between incoming freshmen and the university.

Two years ago, UNK implemented a peer-group system where a student's orientation leader starts a Facebook group, posts YouTube videos about subjects such as what to bring to college, then reconvenes the group during the first week of classes.

UNK wants to extend that contact through the end of students' first year to help them succeed, Chancellor Doug Kristensen said.

Though peer data for 2011 is not yet available, both UNO and UNK ranked ahead of peer institutions in the 2010 rankings by 3 percentage points and 6.3 percentage points respectively.

UNL lagged its 2010 peers by nearly 6 percentage points. In his September State of the University address, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman set a goal of getting UNL's graduation rates to 70 percent by 2017.

NU Regent Jim McClurg of Lincoln, the board's newly elected chairman, called graduation rate progress “very healthy” and said the campus strategies show strong leadership in the university system.

Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons stressed that the most valuable service the university provides the state of Nebraska is getting NU's students to graduation.

“This,” Hassebrook said, “is our No. 1 priority.”

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402-444-1304, news@owh.com

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