College Scorecard Reveals Low Graduation Rates at Long Island Colleges

John Mitty Friday, April 12, 2013

This February, the U.S. Department of Education released the online College Scorecard, a database which seeks to increase transparency regarding U.S. colleges and universities.  The data in the Scorecard includes information on costs for attendance, loan defaults, increases in price, and more.  One of the data points included is information on graduation rates for full time undergraduates over a six year time period.  According to the information posted, seven of the universities on Long Island show graduation rates which rank below the national average.

Some of these universities include Adelphi University, Stony Brook University, St. Joseph’s College, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Webb Institute.  Officials at these schools protest that the numbers alone don’t provide a full picture of what is going on.  Reverend Calvin O. Butts III, president of the College at Old Westbury says, “We enroll a lot of transfer students and part-timers, and many of our students are the first in their families to go to college.”  There is also the fact that in general now, many students are taking longer to earn their degrees than in the past, due to the increasing difficulty of school curriculum  This is why the college database most likely takes data across six years instead of four, even for four year degrees.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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