President's Perspective

How We Measure Success

October 2009

We measure our success as an institution by many metrics. Among the most important are retention and graduation rates - the number of freshmen who continue on as sophomores and the percentage of students who graduate within six years.

I'm pleased that we are doing well on both counts.

In 2000-2001, the year before I came to Butler, the retention rate averaged 83 percent over four classes, and the graduation rate over four classes was 62 percent. In our latest averages, the retention rate is up to 87 percent; the graduation rate has reached 72 percent.

In our new strategic plan, Dare to Make a Difference, we set a goal - a 90 percent average freshman-to-sophomore retention rate and a 75 percent average six-year graduation rate. In the latest numbers for AY 2008-2009, we hit the target of 90 percent retention, and in May our most recent class graduated at a 76 percent rate. We must maintain that as an average over four years, but we are certainly going in the right direction.

Let me put these numbers in broader perspective: Of the 1,400-plus most prominent accredited, not-for-profit U.S. colleges and universities, fewer than 20 percent have average graduation rates of 70 percent or above.

For me, that is an important measure of quality. I think it indicates that we have appropriately focused on supporting our students as they go on for an undergraduate degree.

One of the reasons for our success is that we set the right tone from the outset. We say to students that we need them to acquire skills necessary for college-level learning while they are in high school. We offer no remedial courses. We insist that our students hit the ground running.

By the same token, we want students to know that our presumption is if they are accepted to Butler, they should graduate. We work hard toward that end.

Butler is a place where, for all its nurturing and support, we also emphasize personal responsibility. If students are going to graduate from Butler, they are going to have to work at it. The simple truth is that academic success is a matter of significant time on task. Students have to put in the requisite amount of sweat equity. They may possess some innate gifts, but no matter how bright they are, success cannot be achieved without effort.

So how can we continue to improve our retention and graduation rates? By continuing to emphasize that faculty should know students by name and face. If students are absent for an extended time, we must check on them and let them know that their flourishing is a concern for us. We ask our staff to be open and accessible, because students with personal or family crises tend to withdraw, and having someone to talk to can make a world of difference.

The bottom line, however, is that students must be prepared to work. In my junior year as an undergraduate, I began keeping track of the number of hours I worked. I measured by quarter-hours - almost like a lawyer. I found I was averaging 32-40 hours of concentrated study outside of class each week.

If you add in class time, that's a 50-hour week, which is not inordinate. Many of our students will average a 50-hour work week after graduation.

Our students need to understand that and treat school as their job. What makes a job into a calling isn't just putting in the hours, of course, but doing work that is congenial to one's larger values. I hope and expect that studying at Butler is congenial for most of our students.