Arriving on campus an hour early, but still circling the parking structure for an open spot 10 minutes before class; having to check in your backpack before entering the bookstore while having your receipt before you leave are just a few absurdities we run into at Cal State Long Beach. We can’t, however, forget the most absurd occurence at The Beach this semester — the university was placed on GradRate.com’s “Hall of Shame List.”
David Happe, creator and operator of the website, compiled a list of universities he found to have the most detrimental graduation rates. The list included one school from each state and CSULB was the chosen school from California.
Just like President F. King Alexander, who deemed the website “a poorly educated operation,” we find this statement hard to believe, especially since our campus is donned with the statement that “Graduation Begins Today.” Statistics, however, speak louder than words. Wait. Is that right?
The university’s six-year graduation rate is 54 percent, a 20 percent jump from 2002, but our four-year rate, which stands at 13 pecent, is still nothing to brag about. CSULB is above the average five-year rate of Cal State Universities at 46 percent, but 13 percent is still nothing to brag about. We have the fourth-highest graduation rate in the CSU but, again, 13 percent is still nothing to brag about. A 13 percent graduation rate is not comparable to top-tier universities and CSULB can improve, but there are reasons for this low rate.
Happe explains that he chose Long Beach because the size of our school is considered large — CSULB has more than 35,000 students — but a much smaller amount of students are leaving with degrees. We understand that at 13 percent our graduation rate is not necessarily a good thing — see repetition in the previous paragraph — but who says you have to graduate in four years?
CSULB has a sizable number of Pell Grant recipients and admits a majority freshmen who are deficient in CSU math and English standards. These students, especially the latter, need more time to finish school. According to President Alexander, 80 percent of CSULB students work. These factors all contribute to lower graduation rates.
Schools with low graduation rates usually lack programs or advisers to assist students with questions they may have. This is definitely not the case at CSULB.
Each major department provides a list of courses that are required in order to complete a specific major or minor. Also, incoming freshman receive a roadmap that guides them toward which classes they should be taking each semester.
There are also numerous programs that focus their attention on helping students graduate. The College Assistance Migrant Program and Education Opportunity Program are a couple of programs that work with at-risk students or those who normally don’t graduate. Some of these require students to meet with an advisor three times per semester to make sure that students are doing what they need to do to stay on track. These meetings include student evaluations from professors and oftentimes help students maintain strong GPAs.
It’s because of programs like these that the Southern Regional Education Board recognized CSULB as “outperforming most institutions in helping students graduate.”
CSULB is a diverse university and attempts to represent what the “real world” is like. Ultimately, graduation rates come down to the efforts of students and how they use their respective institution to their benefit. Our university has the resources available.
We aren’t at Yale or Harvard; we can’t expect a 90 percent graduation rate. But it’s important to acknowledge the fact that our alma mater doesn’t define our future. We’re not statistics.
The Daily 49er isn’t quite sure why Happe was compelled to include Cal State Long Beach in his “Hall of Shame List” nor are we sure of why he placed so much importance on graduation rates — when he himself did not graduate from college. One thing is for sure, though. While 13 percent is nothing to brag about, CSULB can sure lay it on thick.
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