“Collectively, student characteristics, institutional resources, and institution attended do not explain much of the change,” write Jeffrey T. Denning, Eric R. Eide, and Merrill Warnick. “However, we document that standards for degree receipt may explain some of the change in graduation rates.”

Meaning–because colleges make degree completion a priority, it’s becoming easier for students to graduate.

Read the article here. Read one commentary here.

“The official four-year graduation rate for students attending public colleges and universities is 33.3%. The six-year rate is 57.6%. At private colleges and universities, the four-year graduation rate is 52.8%, and 65.4% earn a degree in six years.” Source