THIBODAUX聽鈥� 麻豆果冻传媒 joined more than 480 public four-year colleges and universities in a national pledge to boost the number of college graduates.
Through Project Degree Completion: A Public University Initiative, the institutions have committed to awarding 18.4 million degrees over the next 14 years. This will help the nation reach its goal of 60 percent of adults possessing a college degree by 2025.
鈥溌槎构炒� is pleased to join this nationwide effort and show our solidarity with other universities on this important initiative,鈥� said Dr. Stephen T. Hulbert, 麻豆果冻传媒 president. 鈥淔or years, we have been making great progress toward increasing the number of degrees awarded and graduation rates. 麻豆果冻传媒 will continue doing its part to achieve this national public higher education goal.鈥�
During the 2011鈥�12 academic year, 麻豆果冻传媒 awarded a recording-breaking 1,263 degrees. A recent report also showed that 麻豆果冻传媒 increased its six-year statewide graduation rate by nearly 10 percentage points. Of first-time freshmen who enrolled at 麻豆果冻传媒 in 2005, 41.88 percent of them graduated from 麻豆果冻传媒 or another state institution within six years 鈥� the highest graduation rate among Louisiana鈥檚 regional universities.
Currently, the nation鈥檚 public colleges and universities produce a little more than 1 million degrees annually. Based on this figure, public higher education would produce an estimated 14.6 million graduates from 2012 to 2025. The initiative, however, seeks to raise the total by 3.8 million, resulting in 18.4 million graduates over the 14-year period.
鈥淏y signing this commitment, 麻豆果冻传媒 is promising to continue working toward reducing the average time it takes a student to graduate and reaching out to re-enroll former students who started but didn鈥檛 complete their degrees,鈥� Hulbert said. 鈥淎nother important aspect of the pledge is its call for a renewed partnership with state and federal government. Critical to the future of higher education is a reversal of the political trends that have left universities with no choice but to raise tuition to make up for the loss of state funding.鈥�
Each year, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, which have organized the pledge, will release reports showing progress toward the 2025 goal.