To Dream the Impossible Dream: College Graduation in Four Years

The cost of higher education continues to climb, while calls for increased institutional accountability and the value of a "four-year degree" are ever present. This research sought to identify factors by which consumers might predict four-year graduation rates at institutions within the CCCU. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis of data from 80 CCCU institutions indicated that 48.6% of the variation in four-year graduation rates could be explained by the model, after adjusting for sample size. Five variables were identified as significantly contributing to the variation in four-year graduation rates: 1) institutional financial aid, 2) "real tuition cost" (tuition less institutional financial aid), 3) instructional expenditures per full-time equivalent student, (4) student-faculty ratio, and 5) average GPA of the incoming class. However, institutional aid and "real tuition cost" were the major contributors; once they were factored into the equation, student-faculty ratio and instructional expenditures became insignificant, although average GPA of the incoming class remained significant as each variable was added to the analysis. In light of the ever-rising cost of higher education, this study indicated that information is readily available to help families make informed college-choice decisions. By doing their homework, a family may increase the likelihood of selecting an institution in which their student achieves the seemingly impossible dream: achieving a "four-year" degree in four years.