WHEELING, W.Va. — With barely one in 10 students earning degrees, West Virginia Northern Community College is among six public community colleges in West Virginia being asked to explain subpar graduation rates.
And more than 80 percent of students are failing to graduate from most of West Virginia’s public community colleges, drawing scrutiny from one of their accreditors. Members of the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions are asking four-year institutions with graduation rates at or below 25 percent and two-year institutions at or below 15 percent to show how they are working to improve.
According to the College Scorecard, a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Education, WVNCC currently stands with an 11 percent graduation rate. The national graduation rate for community colleges is 39 percent.
WVNCC officials understand the interest accrediting agencies have in seeing the school post higher graduation rates, and they know there’s room to improve.
“It is more than likely a true reflection of our graduation rates,” said Carry DeAtley, vice president of academic affairs at WVNCC, of the College Scorecard numbers.
DeAtley said she had not yet considered the actual data used to determine this rate. She added the matter is a priority for the school, and said WVNCC is already at work to implement various programs to better odds of graduation.
She spoke of a “Guided Pathways” program, which is early in its development. It will organize a student’s two-year curriculum in a determined, unalterable order, so that as students progress they may realize small notches of achievement while working toward an overall goal.
For example, DeAtley said WVNCC’s computer information technology department offers different certifications as students pass certain classes. She said the school expects to have the Guided Pathways plan in place by fall 2017.
As for why students drop out, DeAtley said WVNCC’s student body is not brimming with typical 18-year-old college students. She said the school’s students are usually older, and they’re busy with employment, children and other responsibilities. They get caught in this and lose focus, she said.
“We deal with this stuff all the time,” DeAtley said. “It’s heartbreaking because you want to help that person get through, but a lot of the time that comes into play when finishing their education.”
WVNCC Dean of Community Relations Robert DeFrancis said overall retention has been an area of increased interest for the state within the last five years. While WVNCC takes it seriously, he said it’s also not a new issue.
He said many who attend community college do so to participate in a limited number of courses, and then leave. A 2015 report from the American Association of Community Colleges argues graduation rates are a poor way to measure these institutions because of such activity.
DeAtley said the council’s statement is likely a combination of an established interest in program completion with a new, energized focus to address lackluster graduation rates at a time when student loan debt is heavy for many.
