MSU Moorhead working to boost graduation rates
In sort of a companion piece to the Forum story on upcoming changes to Minnesota State University Moorhead's Corrick Center for at risk students, the Forum reports on measures the university is taking to boost its graduation rates, which have been deemed comparatively low.
It found that in a comparison of 15 similar universities, MSUM ranked 13th with its six-year graduation rate of 40 percent.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
An interesting idea (that's been done elsewhere?):
Many MSUM students used to take 12 credits per semester, which is considered full time for financial aid purposes, but not for graduating in four years. MSUM changed its tuition structure so students can take more than 12 credits without paying more, giving students an incentive to take an extra class.
Ted Gracyk, MSUM philosophy professor and chairman of the task force overseeing the issue, told the Forum:
I would expect to see that in a year or two we’ll start to see improvement. But the problem with this whole topic is graduation rates take a while to show up.