“Right problem, wrong solution.”
That’s how University of North Carolina System President Margaret Spellings sums up NCGAP, the legislature’s program to force a percentage of public university applicants to enroll in community college instead.1
She reiterated that point last week, calling on lawmakers to defer or amend the program when they return to Raleigh next week for their spring session.
Spellings and other University leaders are quick to acknowledge where lawmakers are right: Even though the system-wide graduation rate is nearly 10 percentage points above the national average,2 too many students drop out without graduating. There’s room for improvement.
“These are legitimate questions, and it’s our responsibility to offer good solutions,” Spellings says.
But instead of working to make those improvements, NCGAP would limit the choices of students deemed to be at risk.
Instead of holding the University system accountable for better outcomes, the legislature would simply direct a portion of admitted students to get an associate degree at a community college.
The path laid out in NCGAP already exists, and students are free to choose it – in fact, an increasing percentage of students are doing just that. But forcing students onto that path undermines market choices and University accountability.
There are already major efforts underway to boost graduation rates and smooth the connections between community colleges and universities. In recent years, the University system has:
- Raised admissions standards, a move that has already led to a 5% jump in four-year graduation rates, with further improvement likely.
- Completed an extensive agreement with the state’s community colleges, making it much easier for successful community college students to transfer to a four-year public university.
- Added better advising and data analytics to help track at-risk students, an effort that is still being implemented.
- Expanded programs like C-STEP at UNC Chapel Hill and Eagle Connect at NC Central, which already offer guaranteed admission for successful students from community colleges.3
Spellings and the Board of Governors that oversees the University system have been clear that these efforts, and more like them, need to be stepped up. They have pledged accountability for raising graduation rates and addressing the concerns of state lawmakers.
They should get that chance before legislators take a heavy hand in telling students and their families where they can and can’t choose to enroll.
1http://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/bog/index.php?mode=browse_premeeting&mid=5630&code=bog, Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs, Special Session – Report on NCGAP.
2Ibid, p. 8.
3Ibid, pp. 4-6.
Charlotte Miller says
No one who needs remediation of any sort should be admitted as a student to the flagship universities. Students who are not ready in the beginning of their college years will not suddenly gain academic maturity. Let them catch up in a more supportive environment to assure they are really suited to the rigors of college.
We cannot solve the social issues that cause students to drop out to…make money, travel, support a family, etc. All society can do is make sure there are avenues of re-entry when they are ready.