U.S. Officials to Push Colleges to Boost Graduation Rate

The Higher Education Act is reauthorized every five years, with members of Congress having the option of tweaking the legislation. The act is up for review next year.

Adam Kovacevich, Lieberman's press secretary, said the senator has criticized President Bush for not adequately addressing higher education issues. Lieberman is developing a comprehensive higher education reform bill, Kovacevich said.

"The federal law that governs support for higher education is up for review next year, and Senator Lieberman ... really tried to wade into the debate with ideas about how to change federal policy toward universities," he said.

Kovacevich said one of Lieberman's main goals is to decrease the average amount of time it takes students to graduate from college.

"He said ... it's not just about getting students in the door, it's about making sure they perform and that they graduate," Kovacevich said.

"Half of the higher-income students graduated from college within six years, and only 7 percent of lower income students graduated within that time frame," Kovacevich said. "There's a huge gap there."

And Kovacevich said socioeconomic factors contribute to the disparity and that Lieberman has specifically criticized Bush for not increasing the amount of federal student aid.

He said Lieberman is specifically concerned with educating students in science and technology fields.

"From his perspective, the high-tech sector has been a large area of growth in the economy," Kovacevich said. "It really reflects a new approach to education. He's looking for bigger investment in schools in return for better results."

Robert Samors, UNC-system associate vice president for federal relations, said it is too early to predict what will happen to the Higher Education Act.

Samors said the average amount of time that a person attends college is increasing but that the face of the average student is changing as well.

"Some of the factors are that the demographics of students are changing," he said.

Samors said older people are attending institutions of higher education in greater numbers and that people who are holding down full-time jobs and taking care of families naturally take longer to graduate.

But Kovacevich said the number of years the average student takes to graduate is still on the rise.

"It is true that there are more older students and they're taking longer to graduate, but the length of the average college education is increasing," Kovacevich said.

Samors said that overall, financial concerns play a part in the duration of the college years.

"There always are concerns about financial aid, ... and associated with that from the policy side are issues about the cost of college," Samors said.

"Obviously, the longer you're in school, the more you need to take out in loans."

But Samors said that if anyone can get college students to finish school earlier, it is the federal government.

"The federal and state governments are known for their ability to providing incentives to students to get through college."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.