Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Sunday, February 26, 2017

The Statistics About Local College Graduation Rates








29 comments:

Anonymous said...

They need a county bailout when they can't even graduate 25%!
I went very briefly after high school but didnt follow through because that place is a joke.
I had a microsoft office computer class that I only needed to spend 2 hours in to complete the entire years curriculum. When you spend an entire class teaching the shortcut keys for copy and paste, I'm not going to sit there and waste my time.
Eleanor Cubbage was my English 101 teacher. She had a strange obsession with the poet lariat of Maryland. I have never had any problem excelling in school, but she was flunking all my papers, no matter how hard I worked on them. Half way through the year I said screw it and wrote one last paper for her. I did it blackout drunk and to this day have never read it. She gave me a B and said "I told you you could do it."
I highly suspect that when a public school wants to get rid of a teacher but can't because of tenure, they have them hired to Wor-Wic. The place is a joke. They should close it down and turn it into low income housing so we don't have to ruin downtown by putting it there.

Anonymous said...

Add the the low graduation rates the employment rates for those who do graduate. Most SU faculty do nothing to help the students get a job.

Anonymous said...

These are some eye-opening numbers.

Anonymous said...

Apples to oranges here. You can't compare a two year associates degree community college with 4 year undergraduate degree schools. Many going to a community college are just taking the courses that will advance their career or vocation and have no intention of obtaining a degree. An Associates Degree is not always the goal when attending a community college. Colleges that are 4 year undergraduate degree colleges are in the business of providing degrees in their field of study. I took classes at Wor Wic that qualified me to take the Realtor's exam and courses that qualified me to take the real estate appraiser's exams in the State of Maryland. I received no degree, yet I received an education in the field of study that I was seeking to be qualified. Naturally, WorWic will have a lower "graduation rate." WorWic is a valuable asset to the community that it serves and cannot be rated by its graduation rate. Statistics do not explain anything when apples are compared to oranges.

Anonymous said...

and how many of these test passers have a drop of common sense?

Anonymous said...

10;13 I don't know how graduation rates are actually figured. But when I went to Wor-Wic I already had two degrees and I dominated my classes primarily because I was experienced and dedicated to doing what was necessary to succeed.

In every class there were people who were getting their chance but I knew were not going to succeed either because they did not have the ability or did not dedicate themselves to success.

For all my studies I had mostly excellent teachers both at WorWic and where I got my two previous degrees. This was partly because of dumb luck but also because when there was a choice I picked the best while some of my peers picked who they thought was the easiest.

I didn't get a degree from WorWic because my goals changed and I didn't think I needed one. No doubt that year I lowered their grad rate.

Also I never did my work blackout drunk. I made a choice early in high school not to drink as I could see no way that it would enhance my life and continue to follow that to this day. You are responsible for your failure. Contributing to a low grad rate is on you. You had your chance.

LadyLiddy said...

Not surprised about Wor-Wic. I've known many students there that have a hard time with the quality of professors. Many can't get any communication from these people, even when a grade is in question. They have people teaching that aren't experts in their subject. We realized that fact after one semester and did what it took to get our child transferred to S.U.

Anonymous said...

10:25 your point is so true. Do your best and NO JOBS.

Anonymous said...

10:40 What these numbers show is the diversity and desires of the human species. When I went to get my first degree 50 years ago we were told to look to our right and to our left because those people would not graduate. It was true then and apparently is true now. I knew one of those empty seats was not going to belong to me and none did. But that very first semester a number of students left not all because they couldn't do the work. A friend marked off in his yearbook each year the ones who were no longer there.

Anonymous said...

10:13 "They need a county bailout when they can't even graduate 25%!" More than 1/3 transfer to a 4-year school and over 60% of students think of Wor-Wic as their first step in obtaining a degree. I highly suggest writing your comments 'blackout drunk' as they might actually make sense.

Anonymous said...

10:13 here. So you had your education subsidized by the county taxpayer and left no better than me. My point in bringing up the "drunk paper" was that the teacher was not a good evaluator of skill or hard work. Like I said I worked hard on every one until it was clear that I would not pass. I was never given suggestions for improvement other than, "you can do better. The "drunk paper" was my screw you on the way out the door and she gave me a B+ on what was surely full of errors and made little sense. So that is what you need to succeed at WorWic.

Anonymous said...

2 historically minority colleges with a less than 40 percentile grad rate is just bad and should be utterly embarrassing for both states. The Presidents for both (already know the UMES nut) need to be held accountable WHEN state funding is involved.

Anonymous said...

UMES Doesn't count the people that drop out after the first semester like the others do.

Anonymous said...

SAD

Anonymous said...

One thing that happens at WorWic that skews the numbers is that there are many students that aren't there to graduate, but to pick up hours to apply to other schools.
Getting 20 hours of courses on the cheap while working or going to high school before spending the big money is a bargain, and a good way to build and test college level learning skills.
WorWic also acts as sort of a proving ground for wannabe higher level students. If you can't get decent grades there, maybe applying to a four years school isn't for you.

Anonymous said...

The most successful "students" at the historically black colleges do not graduate. They are the campus drug dealers.

Anonymous said...

I hope they don't transfer to Del State because their odds don't go up much.

Anonymous said...

10:13 AM: By your own admission, you did your best work drunk! That's a sure sign of an alcoholic.

Anonymous said...

del-tech is even lower

Anonymous said...

11:08 There are plenty of jobs, just not around here. Go west for work and money.

Anonymous said...

As some have already said, the graduation numbers for wor-wic and del-tech are skewed. In fact, if you don't graduate within two years with an associates after you begin, you would be counted in that years graduation rate. A large majority of CC students usually take 3 or 4 years to graduate, as they often take classes part time, in addition to full time work.

Anonymous said...

The numbers for WorWic also have to do with the people they are sending there so they can continue to collect unemployment. They sign them up for the class but they never finish the class. It ticks me off that we pay for a class and they get it for free and then don't show up for the class.

World Grease said...

I'm a huge fan of stats, but where are the rest of the local stats. Is it true that Delaware Tech is lower?

Anonymous said...

3:34
I have undated the post to include Delaware Tech. Which other local stats are you looking for?

Anonymous said...

Its not the colleges responsibility to find you a job! Its you responsibility to pick a degree field that is in demand or set yourself apart from others in a field that is saturated. Only entitlement minded idiots think a college degree is a guarantee of anything. Wake the F- up.

There are many jobs around here for college graduates and the area has quite a bit to offer anyone wanting to raise a family. I don't think that the options available on the shore are appropriately marked to students. I also think its indicative of the arrested development of our young adults.

World Grease said...

I wasn't looking for anything in particular. It is sad to see DelTech scoring so low. How do these compare to Ivy League schools?

Anonymous said...


Many prior posters have noted that comparing the community colleges to the '4' year schools is misleading. Agree.

Wor-Wic and Del-Tech have many students who are not seeking an Associates Degree or a Certificate, but who get carried as students on the roster because they are enrolled. A more accurate statistic might try to capture those students on a degree track, and their progress. Even with the best administrative intentions it would be challenging to get an apples-to-apples with Bachelor's granting schools. And as noted many students aim to transfer to universities after proving they can handle college, or when a slot opens.

Now to the universities. IIRC, while we think of university education taking 4 years the statistics for degrees earned are now pegged to a 5 or 6 year time frame (too lazy to look it up). 6 years to earn your degree has the potential to be 50% more expensive than taking 4 years.

Not entirely students' fault because not all courses are offered every semester. A failure, or faulty advisement, can leave the student hanging until the required course is offered again. And while Wor-Wic and Del-Tech do a lot of remediation courses (bring HS grads up to HS grad spec) the universities may also require some also, which sets the student's graduation date back.

Juggling the stats by not counting first semester university drop-outs, if true, doesn't pass the smell test. It means that bad graduation numbers are actually much worse.




SbyNews_Staff said...

5:36
Harvard 97.5

Yale 97

Cornell 93.3

Princeton 96.9

Any others you are wondering about you can google. Just type in Graduation rate and the name of the college.

Anonymous said...

my golden retriever graduated with a 4.0 from worwic