By Conor Lowery, Ashley Sieloff & Vicki Herd
Around half the students of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB) are set to graduate in the most recent cohort. Student respondents state that they are unaware of UWGB’s graduation statistics, and both the retention and graduation rates are falling. Statistics show a downward trend in both graduation and retention, and though UWGB officials state they continue to research the issues causing this middling graduation and retention going into the future, no official details on UWGB’s retention plan have been made publicly available.
Despite numerous pieces of publicly available information, there is something that seems more unclear than it may appear on the surface: UWGB’s graduation rates, especially compared to other schools in the Universities of Wisconsin, are not well-known by the student body. After discovering that the official UWGB Factbook says only half of the students who attend the university graduate, the Fourth Estate investigated the statistics behind the student body’s graduation rate, and interviews as to how that rate is calculated, in addition to a comparison between UWGB and other Universities of Wisconsin schools.
Because of the way graduation statistics are collected in the university’s official factbook, described by Institutional Research Analyst Samantha Surowiec as “calculated using a cohort (or group) of only new first-time full-time students, meaning any student that started here having never attended college before and took a full course load,” it is not well-known what exactly the student body’s overall graduation rate is. Surowiec also stated that the graduation rate is not representative of the current graduates of every year but of students who entered the school’s process and joined the group beforehand, stating that “there might be 100 students in this cohort. If they graduate within four years (including one to three years), they show up in the four-year rate; say, for example, 25 of the original 100 graduated within four years, then it’s a 25% four-year graduation rate.”
In essence, these methods of calculation provide complications in determining graduation statistics. The Fourth Estate combined elements of these statistics with the website Collegefactual.com, a site that keeps track of college academic, retention, and graduation statistics, to determine that, while the graduation rate is not entirely certain, there is certainly evidence that around half of UWGB’s students graduate in four to six years, with numbers particularly displaying that many more graduate in six years than in four. While Collegefactual’s information has not been verified by officials, the official factbook shows that student graduation rates have seen a significant downward push in the 2019 cohort. At the same time, these numbers may recover when more of the 2019 cohort graduates. The other statistics sit comfortably around 50%, about half of each cohort.
When asked about the accuracy of the statistics of Collegefactual.com and any potential statistical discrepancies, Surowiec replied that she believed the statistics in the official UWGB Factbook were more accurate than the statistics on Collegefactual.com, and that the Factbook should be the first and foremost resource when examining the student graduation and retention rates, but she did not explicitly dispute Collegefactual.com’s statistics.
Graduation is not a frequent topic of conversation among students. The Fourth Estate ran a survey from April 28 to May 9 aimed at students of all programs and degrees. The survey was distributed via Qualtrics to look into awareness of the graduation rate at UWGB, as well as collected data on student outlooks about the graduation statistics.
A vast majority of students stated that they were “not at all aware” of the university’s graduation rate, totaling 45%. Similarly, 68% of students stated that they were “uncertain” as to whether the university had honestly represented its graduation rate. However, students had quite a bit of confidence in their abilities to graduate. 87% of polled students replied “yes” to a question asking whether they were confident in their chances of graduating within four to six years. While statements from Institutional Research Analysts and Provost officials state that student transfer numbers should be incorporated into statistics of the university’s graduation rate, 87% of the students polled replied that they did not believe they would transfer, though 68% stated they had friends who had transferred. Among the 13% who stated they would transfer, a majority of students stated that professors were the central reason they meant to transfer, though campus structure and curriculum offers were also commonly cited as transfer motivators. 52% of students polled stated that they knew at least one student who had dropped out of UWGB. When asked whether they had a positive feeling about the graduation rate, a negative feeling, or no feeling, the most popular reply was “no feeling,” around an equal 52%. Neutrality was the general response, though it wasn’t the general response to everything. One question saw positive responses, as 65% of students replied to a question asking whether they thought the university’s graduation rate could improve in the future with “yes.” While most students seemed wholly neutral on most matters, the small demographic warrants mention. With only 34 student answers, it is hard to determine that this is the opinion of the wider student body.
Understanding graduation rates is necessary for evaluating student performance and institutional efficacy as educational institutions work to improve continuously. UWGB, as well as other universities, must balance upholding academic standards, supporting a diverse student body, and guaranteeing high graduation rates.
Kate Burns, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UWGB, provided commentary on the factors influencing graduation rates and the strategies employed to enhance student retention.
When asked how UWGB’s graduation rates compare to other UW schools, both within the Universities of Wisconsin and nationally, Burns said the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) calculates that type of data for each school and shares accordingly. The numbers reflect the 2023 IPEDS report (the most recent), which utilizes the 2022-2023 academic year data. As far as UWGB, the graduation rate is 40%. This is higher than other UW schools, which sit at a 32% graduation rate (not including Madison and Milwaukee). UWGB also benchmarked against public comprehensives in the Great Lakes region, which had a four-year rate of 28%.
UWGB has implemented initiatives or programs to support student success and increase graduation rates, requiring first-year seminars and additional support courses for incoming students. Burns commented that the university has implemented several mentoring programs and utilizes Navigate as a student success tool and utilizes low grade alerts. Burns also stated that the university has increased their support of The Learning Center, Advising, and Career Planning.
As far as the unique challenges or strengths UWGB faces in terms of student retention and graduation, Burns said, “As an open-access institution, we serve a wide variety of students. This can be challenging, especially with limited budgets.”
Burns was asked to discuss recent trends or changes in graduation rates at UWGB and how the university is addressing them. She explained that the University has witnessed graduation rates fall a bit since COVID-19 and that other universities are experiencing similar situations. Burns said that over the course of the 2023-2024 semesters, the university has put together a student success plan and that employees are working to revise the plan for next year to help address those challenges.
Burns stated that the demographics or student populations at UWGB are diverse. She indicated that students of color, Pell-eligible students (The Pell Grant is a federal grant available to undergraduate students who show exceptional financial need), and veteran students tend to have lower four-year graduation rates. Burns noted that the university is working with specific offices to help address these issues, as well as implement mentoring programs to help those students and ensure their success.
Burns said the Universities of Wisconsin track and measure student progress toward graduation and attempts to aid in the graduation process by promoting advisor meetings to ensure progress toward graduation. The university has also implemented a tool called Stellic to show degree progress better since the Student Information System (SIS) can be confusing for students trying to track their progress on their own. “Advisors also work closely with faculty to determine if students need additional courses or course substitutions to allow for graduation,” said Burns, adding that examples of these additions or substitutions include independent studies or summer/January courses.
UWGB has a retention plan to ensure students make it to graduation. When asked about the matter, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Access & Success Meagan Strehlow and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Jennifer Jones said they organized together, stating that UWGB “provides a wide range of resources to support students to and through higher education. We continue to research additional ways to support students, provide more information and advising for pre-majors, and learn from students about their obstacles to persisting to graduation.” Strehlow and Jones were not specific about the details of the retention plan or what this research entails and offered no further comment.
Other Universities of Wisconsin schools, such as UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee, have data demonstrating that their retention and graduation rates are similar to those of UWGB. The Fourth Estate reached out to multiple schools to confirm statistics listed on Collegefactual.com, a publicly available database that collects college-based data. UW-Milwaukee’s representatives, who prefer to remain anonymous, stated that Collegefactual’s information was incorrect, and listed a correction; while Collegefactual listed its retention rate of 2015 students as 75%, UW-Milwaukee claimed that it was in fact, 72% while also claiming that the school’s four-year graduation rate of 14% was a larger 22.6% and its six-year grad rate was, rather than Collegefactual’s alleged 45% rate, 47.2% instead.
UW-Milwaukee also stated its current plan to increase retention rates, which consists of three steps, those being to be very inclusive as a school and support the growing community of UW-Milwaukee students, called “Panthers” by the UW-Milwaukee school system, to add resources to support students’ academic progress, and to assist students with both their personal growth as people and the security of their finances.
Other Universities of Wisconsin schools, such as UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee, have data demonstrating that their retention and graduation rates are similar to those of UWGB. The Fourth Estate reached out to multiple schools to confirm statistics listed on Collegefactual.com, a publicly available database that collects college-based data. UW-Milwaukee’s representatives, who prefer to remain anonymous, stated that Collegefactual’s information was incorrect, and listed a correction; while Collegefactual listed its retention rate of 2015 students as 75%, UW-Milwaukee claimed that it was in fact, 72% while also claiming that the school’s four-year graduation rate of 14% was a larger 22.6% and its six-year grad rate was, rather than Collegefactual’s alleged 45% rate, 47.2% instead.
UW-Milwaukee also stated its current plan to increase retention rates, which consists of three steps, those being to be very inclusive as a school and support the growing community of UW-Milwaukee students, called “Panthers” by the UW-Milwaukee school system, to add resources to support students’ academic progress, and to assist students with both their personal growth as people and the security of their finances.
The Fourth Estate has reached out to representatives from UW-Oshkosh, but did not receive a response.
UWGB’s graduation rates are around halfway, showing similar statistics to those of the other UW schools examined. Students, meanwhile, seem primarily unaware of the graduation statistics. While the student body remains confident in graduation in four to six years, a substantial number of students replied to the poll by confirming that they did know students who had dropped out of the school. Few students, however, expressed interest in transferring to other schools. While the data is limited due to the small number of student responses, opinions about the graduation rate and the university’s honesty about it were neutral.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee, meanwhile, showed consistent numbers that were quite close to those of UWGB. While UW-Oshkosh officials have not responded to the Fourth Estate’s requests for information, UW-Milwaukee confirmed that they have plans to ensure academic success and retention growth. Similarly, Provost Kate Burns provided information on the methods in place that UWGB uses to ensure its retention and graduation numbers do not fall, as well as sharing the struggles faced by the school system.
As UWGB enters another year with around half of its students being confirmed to graduate, the question remains whether UWGB will see a significant rise in graduation rates due to oncoming changes, see losses, or whether the graduation rates will remain the same going forward.