The Facts:
The UNC System is considering a plan to limit freshman enrollment at universities that do not meet specific retention rates. N.C. State’s current rates are above the specific retention threshold.
Our Opinion:
The University’s administration should continue to improve their retention plan to maintain the quality of education and the value of the NCSU degree.
The UNC Board of Governors proposed a program to limit freshman enrollment at UNC System schools that do not meet certain retention rates. The program is still under consideration and has not been passed, but it’s a good idea.
In 2000, the UNC System passed the Focused-Growth Initiative, which gave more money to universities for bringing students into the schools. The new program is a step away from the old initiative, giving more incentives to universities for successfully getting students to graduate.
As a University that prides itself on the excellence of its academics, we want to be careful about the people we admit — those we do admit, we want to see commit.
This proposal is a chance for University officials to be proactive in its efforts to increase retention. The plan has the potential to improve the quality of the UNC System schools and increase graduation rates. The plan also forces schools to re-evaluate their quality of education.
While three of the 16 UNC System universities do not meet the set retention rate targets, at the present moment, N.C. State meets all the thresholds to expand its freshman class.
Since the University’s retention rates are above the proposed threshold, the administration must be doing something right. The administration should focus on maintaining their current retention plan, but also on improving their plan.
The UNC System’s goal is not only to keep retention and graduation rates high, but to improve. In order to do so, universities should continuously re-evaluate their current systems and find ways to improve upon them.
If the University were to fall below the threshold, it would look bad on the University, decreasing the value of an N.C. State degree.
Less-valuable degrees mean recent graduates who are already facing a tough job market would have an even more difficult time finding a job.
Restricted enrollment would force admissions below the threshold to be more selective. However, while institutions want to recruit high-quality students, they should not punish people going through the admissions process for the faults of the students already in college.
The initiative has the potential to make universities better for students, but it is up to the individual administrations in the UNC System to improve upon their retention plans.
