Monday, October 27, 1997
Dropout rate reaches its lowest point ever
ACADEMICS: Wide variety of student services seems to propel
graduation rate
By Steven Tanamachi
Daily Bruin Contributor
While a majority of UCLA undergraduates eventually walk across
the graduation stage, some leave the university early.
UCLA’s dropout rate is at its lowest level ever, and the
university will continue to offer programs in the effort to keep
students in school until they have their diploma.
"Graduation rates are now higher than they have ever been at
UCLA," said Robert Cox, manager for enrollment planning in Academic
Planning and Budgeting.
The dropout rates between the freshman and sophomore years have
historically been the weakest point for retention. But those
dropout rates have been tapering off.
In the last few years, retention rates have climbed, then
leveled out, most noticeably amongst African American students.
Between 1991 and 1995, there has been a four percent increase in
African American freshmen enrolling for their second year, compared
to an overall one percent increase of all students.
These successful numbers may be due to the various services
offered around campus.
Among the programs the school offers are several tutoring
programs, the Freshman Summer Program in which selected students
take preparatory classes, and freshman and transfer student
orientation programs, says Judi Smith, vice president for
undergraduate education.
"You have to have programs that meet the needs of a high number
of people," said Edward Gurrola, the Academic Advancement Program
counseling director.
AAP has provided services to historically underrepresented
groups. AAP offers programs, such as peer counseling, job fairs,
and tutorial programs, and serves literally thousands of UCLA
students.
"We foster academic excellence, and if we foster a sense of
community, students will feel ‘I could do it,’" said Gurrola.
As a result of their efforts, UCLA’s AAP recently received the
1997 Retention Excellence Award, presented by the Noel-Levitz
National Center for Student Retention. It was recognized as the
"most creative, successful, and innovative" college retention
program in the nation.
Another of UCLA’s programs is the Campus Retention Committee,
which offers workshops and other assistance for students.
"The Campus Retention Committee has target groups, but it’s open
to anybody," said Antonio Sandoval, an employee in the Community
Programs Office.
Despite the evidence that this system successfully keeps
students in the institution, it is far from flawless. Many students
still do not make it to the end of the educational pipeline, where
a degree awaits them.
The attrition rate, said Cox, can be vary due to "people’s life
circumstances and goals changing."
Todd was a former engineering student who was dismissed after
spring 1997 for academic reasons. Todd, who wished that he be
identified only by his first name, points out UCLA’s communication
problems.
"Before the dismissal, they could have given me information
about tutoring," Todd said. "I had to sign up at the beginning (of
the quarter), but I didn’t know that I needed help at the beginning
of class."
Students may feel uninformed and intimidated by the size of the
campus, according to Gurrola, but peer counseling can help
alleviate this stress.
"Peer counseling deals with transitional-type things, but it’s
still a big campus," Gurrola said. "There’s lots of different
things to deal with."
The size of the campus is not necessarily a factor contributing
to student attrition, in Cox’s perspective.
"The size is a disadvantage in some ways, but an advantage in
other ways," he said.
"You may find problems with your major but there’s usually
somewhere else to go," Cox said.
With the advent of Proposition 209, AAP (as well as the
university) now requires a different application which can no
longer hold race and ethnicity as considerations. Socio-economic
background and academic record are now a stronger focus.
There is no definite projection of the effects the
ever-controversial Proposition 209 will have on retention rates,
but it poses a question mark on the issue of total number of
graduates. AAP’s director Adolfo Bermeo headlined the September
1997 newsletter with an address of Proposition 209.
"Prop. 209 will not deter us from continuing to increase the
retention and graduation rates of AAP students; 209 will not dampen
our belief in education as a vehicle for social justice," Bermeo
stated.
The tutoring programs, counseling and other programs around
campus will try to lead students to their degree regardless of the
impact Proposition 209 may have on student retention.
Despite the promising numbers, the effort to accommodate
students will not stop.
According to Gurrola, "There’s still a need for the university
to get students on the right path."