New Bill Aims to Improve Measuring Student Success at Community Colleges

 

 

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and John Barrasso (R-WY) today introduced the Graduation Reporting for Accuracy and Decision-Making (GRAD) Act, bipartisan legislation that would improve transparency and inform the decision-making of prospective students by ensuring the reporting of graduation rates accurately reflect the success of community colleges. Text of the legislation is available online.

 

“It is more important than ever that students, parents, and policymakers have accurate and complete information about college completion rates. For too long the success of our community college students in completing their studies and earning credentials, certificates and degrees has been underreported,” said Deneece G. Huftalin, president of Salt Lake Community College. “I applaud Senators Romney and Hickenlooper for sponsoring this critical legislation that will provide greater transparency and ensure that the reporting of graduation rates accurately reflects the achievements of community colleges and their students.” 

The Higher Education Act (HEA) requires the Department of Education to report institutions’ graduation rates for full-time, first-time students. Colleges report these numbers to the federal government. However, the current practice excludes millions of nontraditional students from being reflected in this data. The so-called GRAD Act would modify existing reporting requirements to better reflect these diverse populations.

“Schools like Snow College and Salt Lake Community College have students enrolled from all walks of life—from the first in their family to go to college, to veterans, to single parents,” Sen. Romney said. “Current reporting requirements fall short in reflecting community colleges’ unique make-up of students, and every year students who receive degrees are classified as ‘drop-outs’ by the federal government. Our bill will fix this problem and ensure that the government more accurately measures success at community colleges in Utah and across the country.”

Noting not everyone attends college full time or finishes in four years, Sen. Hickenlooper said the GRAD Act will give everyone a more accurate picture of students who follow non-traditional paths and how to help further their education. Wyoming has seven community colleges, added Sen. Barrasso, and they deserve to have an accurate accounting of all graduation rates.

“We support this bill and appreciate Senators Romney and Hickenlooper’s efforts to increase the quality and quantity of data that accurately captures college completions,” said David R. Woolstenhulme, commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education. “Gathering and analyzing data on completions is crucial in allowing the Utah System of Higher Education and higher education nationwide to better support our students, regardless of the student’s personal circumstances or what their college path looks like.”