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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events Topic
Topic: Retention rates
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RPO R6V
10/18/2015 8:35 PM
Is this accurate? Is our rate low?

http://colleges.startclass.com/stories/6116/colleges-lowe...
Last Edited: 10/18/2015 8:36:57 PM by RPO R6V
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David E Brightbill
10/18/2015 9:16 PM
RPO R6V wrote:expand_more
Go to the Ohio Board of Regents website. Ohio University ranks 3rd in in 6 year graduation rates of the 4 year publics. Our first to second year main campus Retion rate is also third I think, at 80%. If I remember correctly our graduation rate compared to the prediction rate ( rate at which a student entering with a particular ACT score is expected to graduate) is very high nationally.
Last Edited: 10/18/2015 9:17:46 PM by David E Brightbill
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Alan Swank
10/18/2015 10:32 PM
Spin it David. According to the new ratings by the department of education, it's osu at 83%, Miami at 80% and OU at 65. BG is 56, Cincy is 56, Kent 52, Akron 41, Wright State 41 and Youngstown 32.
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David E Brightbill
10/19/2015 7:29 AM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
Spin it David. According to the new ratings by the department of education, it's osu at 83%, Miami at 80% and OU at 65. BG is 56, Cincy is 56, Kent 52, Akron 41, Wright State 41 and Youngstown 32.
Guess that makes us third as I said. The University takes it's Appalachian location seriously. It does a very good job of graduating students whose ACT scores would not project a successful college career. Alan your bias shows continually.
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BillyTheCat
10/19/2015 11:48 AM
Part of the problem with education is we are stringing things out to 5 and 6 years, and this is having a disastrous effect financially on a generation of people.
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OUPride
10/19/2015 2:02 PM
David E Brightbill wrote:expand_more
Spin it David. According to the new ratings by the department of education, it's osu at 83%, Miami at 80% and OU at 65. BG is 56, Cincy is 56, Kent 52, Akron 41, Wright State 41 and Youngstown 32.
Guess that makes us third as I said. The University takes it's Appalachian location seriously. It does a very good job of graduating students whose ACT scores would not project a successful college career. Alan your bias shows continually.
I would say it's a little more mixed than that. The university does a very good job of getting those students who come back for their second year through to graduation, but it is doing a very poor job of retaining its freshman class.

I'm not willing to be too damning in the latter regard though. I'd like to see some breakdown on why they're not coming back. Are they flunking out? Transferring out? Is it a matter of financial aid? Or counseling? Or the overall "freshman experience?"
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Alan Swank
10/19/2015 5:35 PM
David E Brightbill wrote:expand_more
Spin it David. According to the new ratings by the department of education, it's osu at 83%, Miami at 80% and OU at 65. BG is 56, Cincy is 56, Kent 52, Akron 41, Wright State 41 and Youngstown 32.
Guess that makes us third as I said. The University takes it's Appalachian location seriously. It does a very good job of graduating students whose ACT scores would not project a successful college career. Alan your bias shows continually.
You're right David, my bias does show continually just as the board of trustees is continually out of touch with reality. Remember when one of your board colleagues suggested that to meet costs and save money, students might forgo a pair of designer jeans? Remember when your board colleagues continually bought into the idea of not fixing things and came up with the term deferred maintenance? Remember when your board colleagues approved the decimation of OU's grounds and building staff thus exacerbating the decay and decline of those same buildings? I could go on and on but from the standpoint of one who lives in Athens and sees this daily as opposed to someone who occasionally comes to town for a meeting to be spoon fed information that is questionable at best, I think you get the point. It's a good thing that the students today aren't as politically active as those in the 60's. On the flip side, if the students today had been in the 60's we'd still be in Vietnam.
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BillyTheCat
10/19/2015 9:19 PM
Our campus is a shell of what it used to be in regards to how well things are kept in shape. While we as an institution are making these cuts, we jack salaries at the upper echelon and dig our heads further into the ground.
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74 Cat
10/20/2015 6:19 AM
"On the flip side, if the students today had been in the 60's we'd still be in Vietnam."

If we brought back the actual draft, sans deferments, and include women, I bet the attitude on campus would change.

I do have a question for you, Mr Swank. You have posited a number of negatives concerning the university, what do you see as the positives, please?
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Alan Swank
10/20/2015 8:13 AM
74 Cat wrote:expand_more
"On the flip side, if the students today had been in the 60's we'd still be in Vietnam."

If we brought back the actual draft, sans deferments, and include women, I bet the attitude on campus would change.

I do have a question for you, Mr Swank. You have posited a number of negatives concerning the university, what do you see as the positives, please?
Fair question. In the disciplines with which I'm most familiar, I see a dedicated faculty conducting world class research and delivering engaging and informative teaching. The office of student affairs under Kent Smith, Ryan Lombardi and now Jenny Hall Jones is/has been extremely well run. The Marching 110 is an unbelievable ambassador for the university. Rod McDavis has been extremely responsive to any and all concerns I've expressed and questions that I have answered during his entire tenure. While we may not agree on everything, I have found his answers to be well supported and clearly expressed. University offered cultural opportunities are many and diverse and very reasonably priced for the area. It's for these reasons and the fact that my wife has had a very successful and fulfilling 35 year career here at OU that we call this place home.
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The Optimist
10/20/2015 11:27 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Part of the problem with education is we are stringing things out to 5 and 6 years, and this is having a disastrous effect financially on a generation of people.

I'm tempted to dwell on one of Alan's (many) questionable points in this thread but I'm going to key in on you, Billy.

I managed to graduate in 4.5 years despite having to drop out of school one quarter to have surgery (hence the extra .5)
If you spend 6 years in college taking a full schedule of classes, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you pass your classes AND don't switch majors while taking a full courseload you can graduate in 4 flat.
There are a couple exceptions based on major... Accounting for instance, you need extra time for your CPA that would push you over 4 years. There are a couple other majors like this... BUT, the major itself isn't USUALLY the problem. The problem is kids jumping between majors multiple times. If you don't know what you want to do, key in on general requirements your freshman and sophomore years. College is simply too expensive to switch majors two, three, four times.... You start switching between unrelated fields or taking classes that don't go towards your degree requirements, yeah, you are going to be in school longer. That is your own fault. Be smart.
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BillyTheCat
10/20/2015 11:56 AM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more
Part of the problem with education is we are stringing things out to 5 and 6 years, and this is having a disastrous effect financially on a generation of people.

I'm tempted to dwell on one of Alan's (many) questionable points in this thread but I'm going to key in on you, Billy.

I managed to graduate in 4.5 years despite having to drop out of school one quarter to have surgery (hence the extra .5)
If you spend 6 years in college taking a full schedule of classes, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you pass your classes AND don't switch majors while taking a full courseload you can graduate in 4 flat.
There are a couple exceptions based on major... Accounting for instance, you need extra time for your CPA that would push you over 4 years. There are a couple other majors like this... BUT, the major itself isn't USUALLY the problem. The problem is kids jumping between majors multiple times. If you don't know what you want to do, key in on general requirements your freshman and sophomore years. College is simply too expensive to switch majors two, three, four times.... You start switching between unrelated fields or taking classes that don't go towards your degree requirements, yeah, you are going to be in school longer. That is your own fault. Be smart.
That is if you are able to get all your classes in and not be bumped out. There was just an article in the Post last week on this issue. I agree there is an element of personal accountability involved, but is not always the case. And the switching major thing I will agree on, but the honest answer to that is not every kid can be expected to know their life's plan at the age of 18/19, and a good college with the liberal arts component that we have will help expose students to other areas in which they may find an interest to explore.

Alan: Very good points, there are many great things that OHIO University is and many great people, however that does not mean there is not room for improvements or a need to address issues, which is exactly your stance.
Last Edited: 10/20/2015 11:57:30 AM by BillyTheCat
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Alan Swank
10/20/2015 5:56 PM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Part of the problem with education is we are stringing things out to 5 and 6 years, and this is having a disastrous effect financially on a generation of people.

I'm tempted to dwell on one of Alan's (many) questionable points in this thread but I'm going to key in on you, Billy.

I managed to graduate in 4.5 years despite having to drop out of school one quarter to have surgery (hence the extra .5)
If you spend 6 years in college taking a full schedule of classes, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you pass your classes AND don't switch majors while taking a full courseload you can graduate in 4 flat.
There are a couple exceptions based on major... Accounting for instance, you need extra time for your CPA that would push you over 4 years. There are a couple other majors like this... BUT, the major itself isn't USUALLY the problem. The problem is kids jumping between majors multiple times. If you don't know what you want to do, key in on general requirements your freshman and sophomore years. College is simply too expensive to switch majors two, three, four times.... You start switching between unrelated fields or taking classes that don't go towards your degree requirements, yeah, you are going to be in school longer. That is your own fault. Be smart.
That is if you are able to get all your classes in and not be bumped out. There was just an article in the Post last week on this issue. I agree there is an element of personal accountability involved, but is not always the case. And the switching major thing I will agree on, but the honest answer to that is not every kid can be expected to know their life's plan at the age of 18/19, and a good college with the liberal arts component that we have will help expose students to other areas in which they may find an interest to explore.

Alan: Very good points, there are many great things that OHIO University is and many great people, however that does not mean there is not room for improvements or a need to address issues, which is exactly your stance.
Couldn't have said it better Billy. Interestingly enough, I almost ended my previous post by saying "but we can do better." Thanks for saying it for me.
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rpbobcat
10/21/2015 9:43 AM
Just wanted to respond to some of the posts on this topic.
I also didn't want waste everyone's time by "quoting" everyone's posts that I want to comment on.

1.O.U. Pride:
I agree 100% that, to comment on Freshmen retention, you need to know why students left.
I know that,during my Freshman year,several guys found out pretty fast that they weren't prepared for college level classes.I also knew other guys who spent too much time trying to get through pledging rather then going to class.

2.The Optomist:
I transfered from O.U. after Fall quarter of my Junior year.I changed majors,lost a bunch of credit hours in the quarter/semester transfer and took a semester off.
I still finished up my degree in a little over 5 years.

3.Billy The Cat:
I guess there are different schools of thought on why you go to college.
I went for the purpose of a career/job after graduation.
It seems that a lot of kids today kind of "wander" without direction in their studies.
That's fine,but you're gonna take a lot more time,and spend a lot more money to get a degree.

One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world".
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BillyTheCat
10/21/2015 10:56 AM
RP: "One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world"."



This is exactly what I'm talking about!!!!! To lay it all on the students is being dishonest in taking the $23K a year in tuition, room, board, fees, etc...
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rpbobcat
10/21/2015 11:31 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
RP: "One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world"."



This is exactly what I'm talking about!!!!! To lay it all on the students is being dishonest in taking the $23K a year in tuition, room, board, fees, etc...
I also think that,with what universities charge,students should be allowed to have more control over the courses they are required to take.
If I'm studying engineering,let me take technical electives instead of certain "core" courses that have nothing to do with my major.

I know I'm going to get into trouble with some people,but at the univesirty where I chair an advisory committee,we refer to "core" courses as the "Liberal Arts Professors Full Employment Act".

One of my favorites.
When I transfered from O.U, I competed in D-1 wrestling and track.
I still had to take,and pay for,a 1 credit Personal Fitness Class.
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Recovering Journalist
10/22/2015 11:52 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
RP: "One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world"."



This is exactly what I'm talking about!!!!! To lay it all on the students is being dishonest in taking the $23K a year in tuition, room, board, fees, etc...
This is better in theory than in practice. I work with a lot of financial services clients, so you'd expect that I encounter tons of MBAs, finance majors, business majors, etc. And they're certainly around. That said, the CEO of one of the private equity firms I work with double majored in French and psychology. That same firm hires history and political science majors because they tend to research and write well and have good critical thinking skills.

A degree is a basic ticket to a decent job. It's not a box we have to live in the rest of our lives. I no longer write or edit news but I was a newswriting and editing major.
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OUPride
10/22/2015 8:18 PM
Recovering Journalist wrote:expand_more
RP: "One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world"."



This is exactly what I'm talking about!!!!! To lay it all on the students is being dishonest in taking the $23K a year in tuition, room, board, fees, etc...
This is better in theory than in practice. I work with a lot of financial services clients, so you'd expect that I encounter tons of MBAs, finance majors, business majors, etc. And they're certainly around. That said, the CEO of one of the private equity firms I work with double majored in French and psychology. That same firm hires history and political science majors because they tend to research and write well and have good critical thinking skills.

A degree is a basic ticket to a decent job. It's not a box we have to live in the rest of our lives. I no longer write or edit news but I was a newswriting and editing major.
I agree 100%. Our company doesn't recruit business majors: only humanities, social sciences, hard sciences and engineering. We send some of them to get an MBA after a few years, but no undergraduate business majors.
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rpbobcat
10/23/2015 7:25 AM
OUPride wrote:expand_more
RP: "One thing I feel should be mandatory in colleges, is that advisors be required to tell students what they can expect a particlualr degree will do for them,when they get into the "real world"."



This is exactly what I'm talking about!!!!! To lay it all on the students is being dishonest in taking the $23K a year in tuition, room, board, fees, etc...
This is better in theory than in practice. I work with a lot of financial services clients, so you'd expect that I encounter tons of MBAs, finance majors, business majors, etc. And they're certainly around. That said, the CEO of one of the private equity firms I work with double majored in French and psychology. That same firm hires history and political science majors because they tend to research and write well and have good critical thinking skills.

A degree is a basic ticket to a decent job. It's not a box we have to live in the rest of our lives. I no longer write or edit news but I was a newswriting and editing major.
I agree 100%. Our company doesn't recruit business majors: only humanities, social sciences, hard sciences and engineering. We send some of them to get an MBA after a few years, but no undergraduate business majors.
I attended a lecture where they were talking about the "usefullness" of an undergraduate business degree for certain industries.
The lecturer was talking about a "widget" factory.
He said that unless you know what goes into making a "widget",how do you know how to run that type of business.
He hires people with degrees that are, in some way, relevant to his company.Then,if he needs to,he sends them for an MBA.
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Bobcatbob
10/23/2015 2:46 PM
I would further question even the value of the MBA degree for most individuals steeped in a business environment (Full disclosure, I possess the OU BBA myself). I have known and worked with a ton of MBAs and I know exactly 1 who has leveraged that degree into anything meaningful. He happened to be one like described here, a non-biz undergrad whose job demanded more financial savvy and he was already in demand as a manager.

The proliferation of the "Executive" MBA program to me is like the aforementioned full employment track for biz school profs. Someone stumbled on a gold mine and I'm betting it was the Marketing faculty.
Last Edited: 10/23/2015 2:47:15 PM by Bobcatbob
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