UC Riverside is a leader in mitigating a national “college dropout crisis,” according to an analysis by the New York Times and the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy. 

In the analysis, published in The New York Times on May 23, columnist David Leonhardt asserts that while one in three students enrolled in college won’t earn a degree, schools with similar student bodies have widely varying graduation rates. The Times and Urban Institute studied 368 colleges, comparing expected graduation rates with actual graduation rates. 

To create an expected graduation rate, Leonhardt looked at student income, race, gender, age, and test scores. 

“For too long, high-school students, parents, and guidance counselors have hardly thought about graduation rates when choosing a college,” Leonhardt wrote in the column. “But now people are starting to realize the stakes.”

Dropout rates are a major contributor to inequality, Leonhardt wrote. He quoted research showing students who finish college earn more, and are more likely to be employed — only 2% of college graduates from 25 to 34 are unemployed. 

UCR ranked among the top 15 universities with 2,000 or more students when it comes to exceeding expected graduation rates.

The column quoted UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox, who asserted that on-campus living is a component of student success. “You become connected in a deeper way” living on campus, Wilcox told the columnist. 

UCR is among the nation’s leaders in graduating low-income students. Its six-year graduation rate is about 75%, with no disparities across ethnicities and races. 

For the full New York Times article, follow this link.