In 2003, only 27 percent of adults age 25 and over had a college degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But in addition to those who have graduated with a certificate, many more have tried and failed: The national rate of college graduation within six years of matriculation is around 60 percent, according to federal data regarding higher education.
In addition to an increase in the number of students going to college after high school, more and more adults are returning to school later in life. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, over the past decade there has been a national increase in the percentage of students who have completed certificates and degrees. Most of the increase, however, is due to the higher number of certificates earned.
One data analyst believes that while college entrance has risen, graduation rates have stayed about the same. "The rates have seemed to stall... they have not gone up," Mikyung Ryu, a senior analyst for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education told the University of Delaware's Review.
At Tufts, the statistics have remained stable for several years. According to the Tufts Factbook for 2004-2005, students who matriculated in 1998 achieved the highest graduation rate in the past decade: 91 percent graduated within six years. In the previous 10 years, the rate ranged between 86 percent and 90 percent.
While the national data looks at students who graduate within six years, the Tufts Factbook also records the number of students who graduate within four. For students who entered Tufts in 2000, the graduation rate within four years was 87 percent - a 10-percent increase from the four-year rate of students who entered in 1990.
But compared to similar institutions, Tufts is not quite as stellar as it may seem. According to the Education Trust, an independent nonprofit education advocacy group, Tufts ranks lowest among its top three most comparable schools. Compared with Brown University, Duke University and Georgetown University, Tufts' 91 percent appears paltry: those three schools have graduation rates ranging from 93-95 percent.
As a college education becomes increasingly requisite for success, the process of getting an education is changing.
More and more students are transferring from one institution to another during their college careers. According to the American Council on Education, more than one-third of students transfer at least once, and 20 percent of students transfer twice or more.
Because students leaving an institution count as non-graduates and do not enter the graduation roll at their new institution in statistical reporting, the federal data regarding graduation statistics may be off by a fairly significant amount, and graduation rates may actually be higher than what is reported.
Tufts' graduation rates reflect an institution that keeps the majority of its students interested in pursuing their education. Academic problems may not be the factor that makes Tufts students leave without graduating.
Lara Birk, assistant director of the Academic Resource Center at Tufts, believes that personal issues tend to be the cause of leaving without graduating more often than academic problems.
"I'd say that most often it's something that happens outside of school," she said. "It might be some kind of trauma or medical issue, or some sort of family crisis."
Academically, students tend to struggle most with finding time to get everything done.
"Many older students at Tufts tend to be overcommitted - juggling academics, extracurricular activities, intense involvement in often more than one club or organization and full personal lives," Birk said. "Sooner or later, something suffers, and all too often it is the student him [or] herself. [Such over-commitment] can really cause people to struggle to find balance in their lives."
Athletic commitments can also be challenging for students. According to a report from the National College Athletics Association, however, students at Division I schools who receive athletic scholarships graduate at a higher rate than the national rate: 62 percent for student-athletes, two percent above the national average.
Tufts, as a Division III institution, does not offer athletic scholarships, but its athletes do not seem to behave any differently academically than those at Division I schools.
But because it does not offer athletic scholarships, Tufts also does not keep track of athletes' graduation rates in comparison to those of other students.
"My guess is that student athletes here graduate at the same rate or higher than non-athletes," Athletic Director Bill Gehling said.
While clarifying that he did not have data upon which to base his claims, Gehling was confident that Tufts athletes are no different from non-athletes.
Gehling suggested that athletes may even graduate at a higher rate because of the importance of a sport in their lives. "The reason that they may graduate at a higher rate is because having a connection to a sport tends to be one of the things that keeps a student at a school, instead of transferring," he said.
"I'd be absolutely shocked if they graduated at a lower rate than other students," he added.
