Graduation rates of grant students released

CORRECTION — Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story misstated how much money is invested in higher education. The $80 billion of state money cited is for all state and local spending across the country on higher education. Pell Grants are funded entirely by federal dollars, which the previous version of the story did not make clear. The $175 billion in federal money is for all student aid, not just for Pell Grants. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.

As U.S. Congress prepares to renew the Higher Education Act, the UNC system wants more accountability when it comes to campuses’ Pell Grant graduation rates.

The most recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act passed in 2008. It requires universities to disclose the graduation rates of students with Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and students with neither forms of aid on their websites or to the U.S. Department of Education upon request. The act must be reauthorized every five years, and this Congress is currently holding hearings.

Kimrey Rhinehardt, vice president for federal relations for the UNC system, said the system is advocating for mandatory reports to the Department of Education on Pell Grant graduation rates.

The current requirements lead to universities avoiding reporting graduation rates, said Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“It seems to me it’s very difficult to formulate policy,” he said. “It’s a huge program, and the federal government doesn’t know and doesn’t report the four- and six-year graduation rates.”

Many speculate that as high as 40 percent of Pell Grant recipients graduate within six years, Vedder said, but it’s not officially tracked.

Rhinehardt said it’s important for the taxpayers in North Carolina to know the Pell Grant recipient’s graduation and retention rates because it shows their return on investment.

The systemwide six-year graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients entering in fall 2006 was 47.8 percent. The average six-year graduation rate for the system is 60.2 percent.

UNC-CH’s rate is higher than the average, with 82.8 percent of Pell recipients entering in fall 2006 graduating, compared to a graduation rate of 89.5 percent of the general student body.

Shirley Ort, director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC-CH, said the rate is higher because the University is more selective.

“We are getting well-prepared, academically selective students,” she said. “With that often comes education, better schools and stronger level of preparation.”

Eric Johnson, a spokesman for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC-CH, said different universities serve different student populations.

“There are some in the system that are designed to be selective in admissions, and some that are designated open enrollment,” he said.

Ort said system campuses are required to report this data to boards of trustees and the system Board of Governors through a unit record report, which compiles student characteristics, academic strength and financial aid. But in the 2008 reauthorization, the federal government was forbidden from using unit record reports.

Johnson said while having data on graduation rates allows taxpayers to assess their return on investment, graduation rates alone don’t give a full picture of the benefits of the grant.

“There’s also a value in giving an opportunity to students who are on the margin, who may be successful in (graduation) and may not be, but who it’s harder to assess on the front end,” he said.

Still, Ort said $175 billion annually in federal money is spent in support of student aid, and $80 billion in all state and local spending goes toward higher education.

“The taxpayers are putting a lot out there, and they should be able to make their own independent assessment of whether or not there’s the proper return on investment,” she said.

Johnson said proposals to focus on data should make sure to focus on the context of each school’s missions.

“Having data is great, and I don’t think anyone in higher education opposes more transparent data on the whole, as long as there is an appreciation for the nuance that goes into creating it.”

state@dailytarheel.com