a

GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Report to Congressional Requesters

May 2003 COLLEGE 

COMPLETION

Additional Efforts 

Could Help Education 

with Its Completion 

Goals

GAO-03-568
More than half of all students who enrolled in a 4-year college completed a 

bachelor’s degree within 6 years. Students were less likely to complete if 

neither parent had completed a degree, they were black, they worked 20 or 

more hours per week, or they transferred to another college. Students had a 

greater likelihood of completing if they were continuously enrolled, attended 

full-time, or had more rigorous high school curriculum. After controlling for 

other factors, GAO found that disadvantaged students were no less likely to 

complete a degree than other students. However, students from 

disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place. 

Status of Students 6 Years after Beginning in 1995-96 at a 4-Year Institution 

States are beginning to hold colleges accountable for retaining and 

graduating their students, and Education has been discussing this with the 

higher education community. Many states are publishing retention and 

graduation rates for their colleges, and some have tied performance in these 

areas to funding. According to Education, providing information on colleges’ 

retention and graduation performance can help prospective students make 

informed decisions. However, the measure used by Education may not fully 

reflect an institution’s performance because institutional goals and missions 

are not captured in the measure. In its strategic plan, Education has 

identified goals to reduce gaps in college completion and increase overall 

completion. It also has some evaluation and dissemination efforts related to 

retention and completion, however, these efforts do not systematically 

identify and disseminate promising retention and graduation practices to 

help states and institutions. 

Because of concerns that not 

enough students who start college 

are completing a bachelor’s degree, 

we examined (1) the extent to 

which students who enroll in a 4-

year college complete a bachelor’s 

degree and identify the factors that 

affect completion; (2) what states 

and 4-year colleges and universities 

are doing to foster bachelor’s 

degree completion; and (3) what 

the Department of Education 

(Education) is doing to foster 

degree completion. 

As Education moves forward with 

its plan to hold colleges and 

universities accountable for their 

performance in graduating their 

students, GAO recommends that 

the Secretary of Education 

• consider multiple measures 

that would help account for 

the other goals of higher 

education and differences 

among colleges and 

• take steps to identify and 

disseminate information about 

promising practices in the 

areas of retention and 

graduation. 

Education agreed with GAO’s 

recommendations, but expressed 

concerns with some aspects of the 

report. Among other things, 

Education was concerned with the 

scope of GAO’s review and said 

that, for example, GAO should have 

included information on graduation 

rate trends; however, its suggested 

data would not be comparable for 

these purposes. 

COLLEGE COMPLETION 

Additional Efforts Could Help Education 

With Its Completion Goals 

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-568.

To view the full report, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Cornelia M. 

Ashby at (202) 512-8403 or 

ashbyc@gao.gov. 

Highlights of GAO-03-568, a report to the 

Ranking Minority Members, Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 

United States Senate, and Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, House of 

Representatives 

May 2003
Page i GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Letter 1

Results in Brief 3

Background 5

Over Half of Students Enrolled in a 4-Year College or University 

Completed Their Degree within 6 Years, but Certain Factors 

Affect the Likelihood of Doing So 10

States and 4-Year Institutions Had Various Methods to Foster 

Bachelor’s Degree Completion 14

Education Has Programs to Foster College Completion, but No 

Systematic Efforts to Identify and Disseminate Information on 

Promising Practices 26

Conclusions 31

Recommendations 32

Agency Comments 32

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 35 

Appendix II Bachelor’s Degree Completion Status of 1995-96 

Beginning Postsecondary Students 6 Years after 

Enrolling 39 

Appendix III Results of Regression Models for Bachelor’s Degree 

Completion within 6 Years of Beginning College 42 

Appendix IV Comments from the Department of Education 45 

Appendix V GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 48 

Contacts 48

Acknowledgments 48 

Contents 
Page ii GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Table 

Table 1: Overview of Education Programs That Have College 

Completion as a Primary Goal 28

Figures 

Figure 1: Educational Attainment of Students Who Were in the 

Eighth Grade in 1988, 12 Years Later, by Income, 

Race/Ethnicity 5

Figure 2: Status of Students 6 Years after Beginning in 1995-96 at a 

4-Year Institution 9

Figure 3: Bachelor’s Degree Completion Status for Students 

Enrolled at 4-year Institutions, 6 Years after Beginning 

College 11

Figure 4: Bachelor’s Degree Completion by Number of Hours 

Worked Per Week 13

Figure 5: Bachelor’s Degree Completion by Type of First Institution 

Attended and Transfer Status 14 

Abbreviations 

BPS Beginning Postsecondary Students 

GEAR UP Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate 

Programs 

GRS Graduation Rate Survey 

NPSAS:96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study 

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Page 1 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

May 23, 2003 

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

United States Senate 

The Honorable George Miller 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

House of Representatives 

A college degree is a key ingredient for success in the job market. Those 

with postsecondary degrees on average earn more than those without 

such degrees and bring important skills to the workplace. Completing 

college can serve as a means for disadvantaged students1

 to improve their 

economic and social circumstances. Beyond the societal benefits, the 

federal government has additional interests in encouraging college 

completion. Research indicates that those who stay in college and advance 

toward a degree are less likely to default on a student loan—the federal 

government provided student borrowers with $35 billion in new loans in 

fiscal year 2001.2

 In addition to the investment the federal government 

makes in higher education, states, parents, and students make substantial 

investments. To help protect these investments, policymakers have begun 

to focus on accountability of colleges and universities, especially 

regarding college completion rates. The Department of Education 

(Education) has begun to discuss this issue with the higher education 

community. 

 1

Disadvantaged students are identified by the socioeconomic diversity index, which is 

based on three indicators: (1) family income as percentage of 1994 federal poverty level, 

(2) highest education by either parent, and (3) proportion of students in high school eligible 

for free/reduced price lunch. 

2

These loans were provided through two major federal student loan programs, the Federal 

Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan Program. Under the Direct 

Loan Program, students or their parents borrow money directly from the federal 

government through the schools the students attend. Under the Family Education Loan 

Program, money is borrowed from private lenders such as banks, and the federal 

government guarantees repayment if the borrowers default. 

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548 
Page 2 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Because of concerns that not enough students who start college are 

completing a bachelor’s degree, you asked us to determine (1) the extent 

to which students—including those from lower socioeconomic 

backgrounds—who enroll in a 4-year college or university complete a 

bachelor’s degree and the factors that affect bachelor’s degree completion; 

(2) what states and 4-year colleges and universities are doing to foster 

bachelor’s degree completion and what is known about the effectiveness 

of these efforts; and (3) what Education is doing to foster bachelor’s 

degree completion. 

To determine the extent to which students complete bachelor’s degrees 

and the factors that affect completion, we conducted a logistic regression 

using data from Education’s 1995-1996 Beginning Postsecondary Students 

study, which tracked over a 6-year period the academic progress and 

degree completion of individual students beginning with the time they first 

enrolled in postsecondary study in 1995-1996. We analyzed data for those 

students who in 1995-1996 were enrolled in a 4-year institution or were 

enrolled at some other type of institution, but transferred to a 4-year 

institution at some point during the 6-year period. As a result, our analysis 

excludes other types of students, such as community college students who 

did not transfer to a 4-year institution. To identify what states and 4-year 

colleges and universities are doing to foster bachelor’s degree completion, 

we conducted a survey of state higher education executive officer 

agencies representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

Rico.3

 We received responses representing 48 of the 52 jurisdictions (92 

percent). We also interviewed state officials and administrators at 

11 public colleges and universities in Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, 

and Virginia. We selected these states and institutions based on geographic 

dispersion and the variety of efforts reported to us by experts and in the 

survey. To identify what Education is doing to foster bachelor’s degree 

completion, we talked with Education officials and reviewed program and 

planning documents. A more detailed explanation of our methodology is 

included in appendix I. We conducted our work between April 2002 and 

May 2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards. 

 3

We used the membership list of the State Higher Education Executive Officers, a 

nonprofit, national association that represents statewide postsecondary education 

interests. 
Page 3 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

More than half of all students who enroll in a 4-year college or university 

complete a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of beginning postsecondary 

education. On the basis of our analysis, select background characteristics, 

work and college attendance patterns, as well as academic preparation 

and performance are correlated with bachelor’s degree completion. 

Specific factors associated with a lower likelihood of completing a 

bachelor’s degree include coming from a family in which neither parent 

had earned a bachelor’s degree, being black, working 20 or more hours per 

week, or transferring to another institution. Students were more likely to 

complete their degree work if they were continuously enrolled during the 

6-year period or attended full-time. The likelihood of a student graduating 

within 6 years also increased as rigor of their high school curriculum, high 

school grade point average, and first-year college grade point average 

increased. After controlling for other factors, we found that disadvantaged 

students were no less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than other 

students. Notwithstanding this fact, students from disadvantaged 

backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place. 

States and 4-year colleges and universities are employing various methods 

to foster bachelor’s degree completion, but information on the 

effectiveness of these efforts is limited. Over two-thirds of the states 

responding to our survey reported having at least one effort in place to 

foster bachelor’s degree completion. Most of these efforts fell into three 

categories: (1) increasing the number of students entering postsecondary 

education; (2) helping colleges improve their performance in retaining and 

graduating students; and (3) helping individual students remain in college 

and encouraging timely completion for these students. For example, in an 

attempt to increase the number of students entering college, Kentucky has 

aligned high school graduation standards with college admissions 

standards by creating a single high school curriculum for all students. 

Also, in an effort to help students remain in college, seven states reported 

efforts to facilitate transfer from one college to another. Officials in 

Florida told us that establishing policies that help students transfer from 

community colleges to 4-year institutions was important because the 

community college system is considered the point of entry for most 

college students in the state. States reported that almost half of these 

efforts have been evaluated, but provided few specific evaluation results. 

As a way to foster bachelor’s degree completion, 4-year colleges and 

universities we visited were engaged in activities designed to improve the 

learning experience for students by creating smaller learning communities 

that foster greater connections to the institution, along with strengthening 

support of students to promote academic success. For example, some 

colleges have created residential learning opportunities for students. 

Results in Brief 
Page 4 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

These “living-learning” communities are operated through the residence 

halls where students live together and take a class together. In some cases, 

officials attributed increases in retention to their efforts. 

Education fosters bachelor’s degree completion by making financial aid 

available to students and providing support services for students who are 

low-income, come from families in which neither parent has a bachelor’s 

degree, or are disabled. Education administers the federal student aid 

programs, primarily through grants and loans to help students finance 

college. In September 2002, we reported that little information is available 

on the relative effectiveness of federal grants and loans on completion. 

Education also administers programs that provide support services, such 

as tutoring, at the pre-college and college levels to help ensure successful 

outcomes for students who are low-income, come from families in which 

neither parent has earned a bachelor’s degree, or are disabled. Information 

on the effectiveness of these programs in fostering college completion is 

still being collected. Through its strategic plan, Education has identified 

priorities for reducing gaps in college completion among certain student 

populations and increasing completion overall. Its strategic plan also 

identifies strengthening the accountability of postsecondary institutions to 

ensure colleges are graduating their students in a timely manner as a 

priority. According to Education, providing prospective students with 

information on graduation and retention rates to help them make informed 

choices about where to attend college is one way to hold institutions 

accountable for their performance. Education has some evaluation and 

dissemination efforts related to retention and completion; however, it does 

not have a systematic way to identify and share promising practices in 

these areas with states and colleges that are looking for strategies to help 

them better retain their students. 

In this report, we make recommendations to the Secretary of Education to 

(1) consider multiple measures in holding institutions accountable for 

their performance in graduating their students and (2) identify and 

disseminate promising practices in the areas of retention and graduation. 

In written comments on a draft of this report, Education agreed with our 

recommendations, but expressed concerns with some aspects of the 

report. Among other things, Education had concerns with the scope of our 

review and commented that, for example, we should have provided 

information on trends in graduation rates; however, the studies it 

suggested we use are not comparable and should not be used for these 

purposes. Education also provided technical comments, which we 

incorporated where appropriate. 
Page 5 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Many factors affect why some students graduate from college and our 

review would not be complete without first considering the extent to 

which students with different characteristics advance to higher levels of 

education. Many students will complete their education without ever 

having enrolled in college. Figure 1 shows some of the differences in 

educational participation and attainment for a group of students who were 

followed over a 12-year period starting in the eighth grade. 

Figure 1: Educational Attainment of Students Who Were in the Eighth Grade in 1988, 12 Years Later, by Income, 

Race/Ethnicity 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. 

Background 
Page 6 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

We reported in February 2002 that low-income, black, and Hispanic 

students complete high school at lower rates than other students.4

Students from these groups who graduate from high school also enroll in 

college at lower rates than their peers, even though the overall rate at 

which students enter college directly from high school has been 

increasing. According to research, factors such as family income and 

parents’ educational attainment influence students’ expectations about 

college. Low-income students and students from families in which neither 

parent has earned a bachelor’s degree were less likely to expect to finish 

college and ultimately enrolled at lower rates than other students. 

Academic preparation was also cited as a factor affecting postsecondary 

enrollment. Low-income, black, and Hispanic high school graduates were 

less likely to be well prepared academically to attend a 4-year college. 

Even among those who were qualified for college, however, low-income 

and Hispanic students were less likely to take college entrance 

examinations and apply for admission, two necessary steps for enrolling in 

a 4-year institution. 

There are a variety of postsecondary options for students after high 

school. Over 15 million students were enrolled in some type of higher 

education in the fall of 2000. Most students were enrolled in degreegranting 2-year or 4-year institutions.5

 After considering their academic 

qualifications, students can choose to apply to institutions with varying 

levels of selectivity. Community colleges, for example, provide 

postsecondary opportunities for students who might not have the 

qualifications to start at most 4-year institutions. Additionally, students 

may wish to choose an institution based on its mission. For example, 

Minority Serving Institutions are recognized by statute, in part, for their 

mission to educate minority students. 

The institutions students attend have differing graduation rates. 

Institutional graduation rates may vary based upon such factors as the 

mission, selectivity, and type of institution. For example, institutions that 

focus on providing postsecondary opportunities to disadvantaged 

 4

U.S. General Accounting Office, School Dropouts: Education Could Play a Stronger Role 

in Identifying and Disseminating Promising Prevention Strategies, GAO-02-240

(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 1, 2002). 

5

About 2 percent of students were enrolled at nondegree-granting, Title IV-eligible, 

postsecondary institutions. These included vocational and technical programs designed to 

prepare students for specific careers. 
Page 7 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

students—addressing Education’s goal of increasing participation in 

higher education—may have lower graduation rates than institutions that 

do not serve many disadvantaged students. To ensure that students and 

their parents have some information about how colleges are performing 

with respect to graduating their students, Congress passed the Campus 

Security and Student Right-to-Know Act.6

 This act, as amended, requires 

that institutions participating in any student financial assistance program 

under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 disclose to current and 

prospective students information about the graduation rates of first-time, 

full-time undergraduate students. The law requires that institutions report 

the percentage of students who graduate or complete within 150 percent 

of the normal program completion time. This would mean that 4-year 

institutions would track groups of entering students over a 6-year period, 

and 2-year institutions would track groups of entering students over a 

3-year period. While information collected as part of this act is the 

principal federal measure available to hold institutions accountable for 

their performance in graduating their students, there are currently no 

federal sanctions or incentives associated with college graduation rates. 

As part of discussions with the higher education community, Education 

has held panel discussions with student-aid experts, state officials, and 

business leaders, among other participants, about improving 

accountability. 

Four-year institutions calculate their graduation rate by determining the 

proportion of first-time, full-time students who enroll in a given year and 

have graduated from the same institution within a 6-year period.7

 Students 

who have not graduated from the institution where they first enrolled by 

the end of the 6-year period are classified as not having finished a degree, 

even if they transferred and completed a degree at another institution. 

Data from Education’s 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) 

study—a longitudinal study8

 which followed the retention and degree 

completion of students from the time they enrolled in any postsecondary 

 6

Pub. L. No. 101-542, Nov. 8, 1990. 

7

For the purpose of calculating a graduation rate, an institution may exclude from the 

original cohort students who have left school to serve in the military; to serve on official 

church missions; to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the 

Peace Corps; are totally and permanently disabled; or are deceased. 

8

The first BPS study tracked the educational attainment of a group of students who first 

enrolled in postsecondary education in 1989-90. The next scheduled BPS study will follow 

students who first enroll in postsecondary education in the 2003-04 school year. 
Page 8 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

institution over a 6-year period—illustrates how graduation rates are 

understated due to this treatment of transfer students. Figure 2 shows the 

completion status of the nearly 1.4 million students who started their 

postsecondary education at a 4-year institution in 1995-96 (no transfers 

into 4-year institutions from 2-year institutions or certificate programs 

were included). Over one-quarter of the students who started at a 4-year 

institution transferred from their first institution to another institution. If 

only those who completed a bachelor’s degree at the first institution of 

attendance are considered, the graduation rate is 51 percent. However, an 

additional 8 percent transferred to another institution and completed a 

bachelor’s degree within the 6-year period. 
Page 9 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Figure 2: Status of Students 6 Years after Beginning in 1995-96 at a 4-Year Institution 

Note: GAO analysis of BPS 1995-96 data. 
Page 10 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Over half of students who enrolled in a 4-year college or university 

completed a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of beginning postsecondary 

education, according to our analysis of BPS data. However, background 

characteristics such as being black or a first-generation college student9

were associated with lower rates of completion. Whereas students were 

more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree within 6 years if, among other 

things, they had a more rigorous curriculum in high school, attended 

college full-time, were continuously enrolled, worked less than 20 hours 

per week, or did not transfer. After controlling for other factors, we found 

that disadvantaged students were no less likely to complete a bachelor’s 

degree than other students. Notwithstanding this fact, as we have noted, 

students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to attend college 

in the first place. 

For various reasons, not all students who enroll in college will ultimately 

attain a degree. Based on Education’s 1995-96 BPS study, 52 percent of the 

estimated 1.8 million students who enrolled in a 4-year institution at some 

point during the subsequent 6-year period (including approximately 

450,000 students who transferred from a less than 4-year institution10) 

completed their bachelor’s degree.11 Of the 48 percent of students who had 

not attained a bachelor’s degree, nearly 14 percent were still enrolled in a 

4-year institution at the end of the 6-year period, as shown in figure 3. See 

appendix II for completion rates by characteristics and appendix III for 

descriptions of the variables used in our analysis and a discussion of their 

levels of significance. 

 9

First-generation college students come from families in which neither parent has earned a 

bachelor’s degree. 

10These institutions include 2-year schools and certificate programs at less than 2-year 

schools. 

11Students in our population are counted as bachelor’s degree completers if they had 

attained their degree by the end of the 6-year study. Our analysis included students enrolled 

in public or private, not for profit, 4-year institutions. 

Over Half of Students 

Enrolled in a 4-Year 

College or University 

Completed Their 

Degree within 6 Years, 

but Certain Factors 

Affect the Likelihood 

of Doing So 
Page 11 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Figure 3: Bachelor’s Degree Completion Status for Students Enrolled at 4-year 

Institutions, 6 Years after Beginning College 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s BPS 1995-96 data. 

Of the background characteristics we analyzed, being black or a firstgeneration college student was associated with lower completion rates. 

Students with either of these characteristics were about a third less likely 

to complete college as students without these characteristics. The 

completion rate for black students was 38 percent compared with 

55 percent for both white and Asian students. As for students who had at 

least one parent with a bachelor’s degree, their rate of completion was 

59 percent compared with 43 percent for students who were firstgeneration college students. Being a first-generation student affected 

completion regardless of race. For example, first-generation white 

students were no more likely to complete college than first-generation 

black students. 

Students who had a more rigorous high school curriculum and achieved 

better grades in high school and during the first year of college were more 

likely to complete college.12 About 80 percent of students who had the 

 12BPS includes five categories for curriculum rigor, which are based on the number and 

level of courses completed. The “highly rigorous” category includes 4 years each of English 

and math; 3 years each of foreign language, science, and social science; 1 advanced 

placement or honors class or 1 advance placement test score in any subject; and student 

had taken pre-calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. 

14% Did not complete bachelor's degree; 

still enrolled in a 4-year institution

34% Did not complete bachelor's degree; 

not enrolled in a 4-year institution

 

52%

Completed bachelor's degree

Source: Department of Education. 
Page 12 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

most rigorous high school curriculum completed college compared with 

47 percent who had the least rigorous curriculum. Additionally, the higher 

the grades a student earned both in high school and in the first-year of 

college, the higher the likelihood of completion. Regarding first-year 

college grade point average, about 71 percent of students who earned 

higher than a 3.0 had completed college compared with 51 percent who 

earned between a 2.0 and 3.0. Students were more than twice as likely to 

complete college for every one-point increase in first-year college grade 

point average. 

Decisions students make regarding attendance, participation in collegiate 

clubs, and work had varying effects on completion. Students who were 

continuously enrolled during their studies were more than 6 times as likely 

to graduate than students who experienced one or more breaks from 

enrollment13 Additionally, students who attended college full-time were 

more than twice as likely to graduate as students who attended part-time 

or some combination of part-time and full-time, all other factors equal. 

Students who reported participating in collegiate clubs were one and onehalf times as likely to graduate as students who did not participate. Less 

than half of students reported such participation. Students who worked 

20 or more hours per week were less likely to complete a bachelor’s 

degree than students who did not work. However, working less than 

20 hours per week was not associated with lower completion rates. Figure 

4 illustrates bachelor’s degree completion rates by the number of hours 

worked per week. 

 13A “break” includes not being enrolled for more than 4 months at a time. 
Page 13 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Figure 4: Bachelor’s Degree Completion by Number of Hours Worked Per Week 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s BPS 1995-96 data. 

Transferring between institutions was also associated with a lower 

likelihood of completion in that students who transferred were a little less 

than half as likely to complete as students who did not. About 69 percent 

of students who started at a 4-year institution and did not transfer attained 

a bachelor’s degree compared with 47 percent of students who started at a 

4-year institution and transferred to another 4-year institution. The rate of 

completion for students who started at a 2-year institution and transferred 

to a 4-year institution was roughly half of those who started at a 4-year 

institution and did not transfer.14 Figure 5 illustrates the bachelor’s degree 

completion rate after 6 years according to type of institution first attended 

and transfer status. 

 14Since our population includes only 2-year students who transferred, we tested to see if the 

effect of transferring was instead an effect of starting at a 2-year institution. We found that 

it is transferring that accounts for the variance in completion, not type of first institution. 

Source: Department of Education.

Worked 10-19 

hours per week

Worked 20-31 

hours per week

Worked 32 hours 

or more per week

Did not work or

worked less than

10 hours per week

Percent who completed bachelor's degree

0

20

40

60

80
Page 14 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Figure 5: Bachelor’s Degree Completion by Type of First Institution Attended and 

Transfer Status 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s BPS 1995-96 data. 

After controlling for other factors, we found that disadvantaged students 

were no less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than other students. 

However, as we have noted, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are 

less likely to attend college in the first place. 

While states and 4-year colleges and universities are employing various 

methods to foster bachelor’s degree completion, information on the 

effectiveness of these efforts is limited. Over two-thirds of the states 

responding to our survey reported having at least one effort in place to 

foster bachelor’s degree completion. Half the states indicated additional 

actions they would like to take to foster bachelor’s degree completion, but 

cited state budget constraints as a factor preventing them from moving 

forward. As a way to foster bachelor’s degree completion, 4-year colleges 

and universities we visited were engaged in activities designed to improve 

the learning experience for students and strengthen support of students. In 

States and 4-Year 

Institutions Had 

Various Methods to 

Foster Bachelor’s 

Degree Completion 

Source: Department of Education.

Started at a 4-year

and transferred 

to a 4-year 

Started at a 2-year

and transferred 

to a 4-year 

Started at a 4-year

and did not transfer 

Percent who completed bachelor's degree

0

20

40

60

80
Page 15 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

some cases, officials attributed increases in retention to their efforts to 

foster completion. 

Thirty-four of the 48 states responding to our survey, including the 5 states 

we visited—Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia—reported 

having at least one effort in place to foster bachelor’s degree completion. 

Most of these states reported efforts that fell into three broad categories: 

(1) efforts to increase the overall number of college graduates by 

increasing the number of students entering postsecondary education; 

(2) efforts to help colleges improve their performance in retaining and 

graduating students; and (3) efforts to help individual students remain in 

college and to encourage timely completion for these students. While 

states reported that almost half of their approaches have been evaluated, 

the instances where states provided specific evaluation results were 

limited. Half of the states indicated that there were additional actions they 

would like to take to foster bachelor’s degree completion, but cited state 

budget constraints as a factor preventing them from moving forward. 

Nineteen states have efforts to increase the number of bachelor’s degrees 

awarded by increasing the number of students enrolling in postsecondary 

education. This approach includes efforts such as increasing the number 

of students ready for college, educating students and parents about college 

requirements and costs, and providing financial assistance to help cover 

college costs. 

Increasing student readiness for college. Some states have efforts to 

improve the academic readiness of students so that more students have 

the opportunity to attend college. Kentucky has a P-16 partnership that 

focuses on aligning standards between high school and college to ensure 

students are academically prepared for college.15 Kentucky reported in our 

survey that the state had aligned high school graduation standards with 

college admissions standards by creating a single high school curriculum 

for all students. The state has adopted an online diagnostic test designed 

for sophomores and juniors to test their readiness for college mathematics 

in time to improve these skills and avoid remedial placement in college. 

Oregon has implemented proficiency-based admissions standards that 

 15The terms “K-16” or “P-16” describe a movement by educators, political officials, and 

business leaders to work together in a more systemic way to strengthen educational 

achievement from kindergarten or pre-school through completion of the college degree. 

States Are Using a Variety 

of Efforts to Foster 

Bachelor’s Degree 

Completion, but Would 

Like to Do More 

States Seek to Increase the 

Number of Students Entering 

Postsecondary Education 
Page 16 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

specify certain knowledge and skills students should demonstrate for 

admission to its public universities. The standards are intended to provide 

more accurate information about student readiness for college and 

encourage students to choose challenging coursework that will prepare 

them for college. Oklahoma uses assessments in the eighth and tenth 

grades to provide students feedback on their progress in preparing for 

college. In addition to student feedback, colleges use assessment results to 

improve curricula and instruction. The state reported that since this effort 

began 10 years ago there have been increases in the number of high school 

students taking college preparatory courses, particularly among black 

students. 

Educating students and parents about college. To increase the 

numbers of students enrolling in postsecondary education and ultimately 

completing a bachelor’s degree, some states are focusing on raising 

awareness among students and parents about the benefits and costs of 

postsecondary education. Texas, for example, has a plan that centers on 

counseling students and their parents about what is necessary to enroll in 

postsecondary education. The state provides information on the benefits 

of postsecondary education, the academic preparation necessary for 

enrolling, and the costs of attending, including information about available 

financial aid and how to qualify. These efforts are designed to support its 

goal of increasing its enrollment from just under 1 million students in 

2000 by adding 500,000 new college students by 2015. 

Providing financial aid for college. Financial assistance is another way 

states seek to increase the number of students enrolling in college. Several 

states have programs that provide monetary assistance to academically 

qualified students based on academic merit, financial need, or some 

combination of the two. For example, Oklahoma provides free tuition at 

public institutions for students whose families have incomes below 

$50,000 and meet other requirements, including completing a prescribed 

high school course of study with at least a 2.5 grade point average. 

Oklahoma reported that the performance of students in this program has 

exceeded that of the general student population. Another example is the 

West Virginia Higher Education Grant Program, which provides assistance 

to academically qualified, but needy students who attend college in West 

Virginia or Pennsylvania. West Virginia’s evaluation of the program 

revealed that grant recipients had higher graduation rates than students 

receiving other types of financial aid and students who received no 

financial aid. 
Page 17 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Many states reported efforts to improve the performance of colleges in the 

areas of retaining and graduating their students. Such efforts include 

promoting accountability for colleges by collecting and, in some instances, 

publishing retention and graduation rates. States also promote 

accountability by tying funding—mainly for public colleges—to 

performance. States are also sharing information with colleges about 

retention strategies to foster increased rates of bachelor’s degree 

completion. 

Promoting accountability for colleges. In order to hold colleges and 

universities accountable for their performance in the areas of student 

retention and graduation, states must first collect consistent information 

from these institutions. Three-fourths of the states that responded to our 

survey reported that they collect data that allow them to calculate and 

track retention and graduation rates for individual institutions and across 

the state. Specifically, 24 of these states reported that they collect 

enrollment and graduation data on individual students from public 

institutions only, and 9 states reported collecting these data from both 

public and private institutions in their states.16 Having these data allows 

the state to calculate retention and graduation rates for each institution 

and the system as a whole. Additionally, because the institutions provide 

the state with individual student records, the state can track the 

educational progress of a student who attends more than one institution. 

This enables the states to include transfer students in their graduation 

rate. The data are limited to student transfers within the state. 

Eighteen states reported that they promote accountability by publishing 

the performance of their colleges and universities on measures, including 

retention and graduation rates because some officials believe that this 

motivates colleges to improve their performance in those areas. In 

Virginia, a state that uses multiple accountability measures, officials told 

us that institutions are not compared with other institutions in the state 

with respect to the various performance measures. Rather, each institution 

works with the state to identify a national peer group of institutions with 

similar characteristics with which to be compared. In this way, institutions 

can see whether their performance is on par with institutions that have 

similar missions and serve similar types of students. In addition to 

 16Additional states may collect summary data on graduation and retention rates from 

individual institutions, rather than collecting enrollment and graduation data for individual 

students that can be tracked across institutions. 

State Efforts to Help Colleges 

Improve Their Performance in 

Retaining and Graduating 

Students 
Page 18 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

measuring retention and graduation rates, Virginia requires its public 

institutions to measure and report on certain student learning outcomes to 

demonstrate the value of each institution to its students. 

Nine states reported accountability efforts that have financial implications 

for colleges and universities to encourage them to graduate their students 

in a timely manner. These efforts include linking a portion of state funding 

to an institution’s performance on multiple measures or making incentive 

payments to institutions based on their performance in the areas of 

retention and completion. Tennessee has a performance-funding program 

in which institutions earn about 5 percent of their state funding for 

performance on multiple indicators, such as retention and graduation. In 

another variation, Pennsylvania provides a financial bonus to any 4-year 

institution in the state, whether public or private, that graduates more than 

40 percent of in-state students within 4 years.17

Sharing retention strategies. Five states reported efforts to improve 

institutional performance by sharing information among state and college 

officials about strategies to help students remain in college. For example, 

the Oregon University System formed a retention work group to provide a 

forum for developing and sharing campus initiatives to enhance retention. 

The group has used annual systemwide and institutional data on retention 

and graduation to identify areas that need to be addressed to increase 

retention. The group looks at retention efforts that seem to be working on 

specific campuses and shares information with other campuses. As a 

result of its work with tribal governments to increase retention of Native 

American students, the system developed a Native American resource 

guide that includes information about topics such as outreach and 

retention efforts of colleges, financial assistance, childcare programs, and 

community college transfer procedures. Officials in Oregon attribute the 

increases in graduation rates at most campuses in the system to the work 

of this group. 

Twenty-two states reported efforts directly aimed at helping students 

remain in college and encouraging timely completion for these students. 

Many such state-level programs provided funding to support efforts 

carried out by individual colleges, such as programs that provide academic 

and social support directly to students. Other efforts seek to ease student 

 17Students who graduate within 5 years also count toward the bonus if they are in 5-year 

baccalaureate programs. 

State Efforts to Help Individual 

Students Remain in College and 

to Encourage Timely 

Completion 
Page 19 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

transfers among colleges, utilize technology to help students complete 

their degree, or include financial incentives to encourage students to 

complete their bachelor’s degrees in a timely manner. 

Funding college programs that provide support services for 

students. Several states provide funding for college-run programs 

designed to support students in need of assistance. For example, through 

its Access and Success program, the Maryland Higher Education 

Commission provides funds to colleges and universities18 for the operation 

of programs to increase retention and graduation rates of their 

undergraduates. The colleges have used these funds to, among other 

things, operate summer bridge programs that acclimate students to college 

the summer before they enroll and provide advising, tutoring, and 

counseling services to students who are already enrolled. New York’s 

Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, aimed at increasing the 

number of low-income students who pursue careers in math, science, 

technology, or health-related fields, provides funding for services such as 

enriched science and math instruction, graduate school test preparation, 

and career awareness. 

Facilitating transfer among institutions. Seven states reported efforts 

to facilitate transfer from one college to another as an approach to foster 

bachelor’s degree completion. Officials in Florida told us that establishing 

policies that help students transfer from community colleges to 4-year 

institutions was important because the community college system is 

considered the point of entry for most college students in the state. Florida 

has common course numbering for all public institutions in the state and 

requires public institutions to accept transfer credits for any course they 

offer that a student completes at another institution. Officials told us this 

policy prevents students from needlessly duplicating coursework, saving 

both the state and students money, along with reducing the time it takes to 

complete a degree. Florida also has a statewide policy that guarantees 

admission to the state university system as a junior for any student who 

completes an Associate of Arts degree. Officials in Florida told us that 

without these policies it would be difficult for community college students 

or other transfer students to complete their degrees. They acknowledged, 

however, that these policies could be at odds with encouraging timely 

 18Historically Black Colleges and Universities are defined as, among other things, any 

college or university that was established prior to 1964 and whose principal mission was, 

and is, the education of black Americans. 
Page 20 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

degree completion because they make it easier for students to exit and 

reenter postsecondary education. 

Using distance learning. A few states reported using technology to 

enhance access and make it easier for students to complete a degree. 

Kentucky, for instance, has a virtual university and library that offers 

credit courses and academic advising for those who work or have family 

situations that may not allow them to come to campus. This also aids oncampus students who need greater course availability. Students taking 

advantage of these electronic offerings have grown from fewer than 

300 students in 1999 to nearly 10,000 in 2002. 

Using financial incentives to encourage students’ timely 

completion. Some states have financial aid programs to encourage timely 

degree completion. These programs may have time limits and/or may 

require students to earn a minimum number of credits each year for 

participation. For example, the University of Alaska Scholars Program, 

targeted at the top 10 percent of high school graduates, offers financial aid 

for eight semesters provided that the scholar remains in good standing. 

Other states have programs that impose financial penalties if students 

repeat coursework or take too long to graduate. Florida’s in-state students 

must pay the full tuition rate—without state subsidies—for any courses 

they repeat more than once. Utah requires that students who enroll for 

credits in excess of 135 percent of what is usually needed for a degree pay 

higher tuition for the excess credits. Texas passed a law designed to 

encourage students to minimize the number of courses they take to 

complete their degree. State residents who complete their coursework and 

degrees in the state with no more than three attempted hours in excess of 

the minimum required for graduation are eligible to apply for a 

$1,000 tuition rebate from their institution. Officials told us that about 

1,500 students received tuition rebates in the 2001-2002 academic year. 

Twenty-four states listed at least one area in which they would like to do 

more to increase bachelor’s degree completion rates. Many of these 

desired actions dealt with increasing financial aid for students and 

increased financial support to colleges to help their students succeed. 

Some wanted to offer special funding for colleges that perform well in 

certain areas related to retention and college completion. Others wanted 

to improve preparation of high school graduates for college or improve 

transitions from one level of education to another. Almost without 

exception, the states cited state budget constraints as a significant factor 

preventing them from moving forward with these actions. 

Half the States Would Like to 

Do More to Foster Bachelor’s 

Degree Completion 
Page 21 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Our visits to 11 colleges and universities in five states showed that 

initiatives in these institutions cluster around two main approaches to 

foster bachelor’s degree completion: (1) enhancing the learning 

experience by creating smaller learning communities that foster greater 

connections to the institution and (2) strengthening support of students to 

promote academic success. In some cases, officials attributed increases in 

retention rates or higher retention rates for certain groups of students to 

these approaches. 

Nearly all of the colleges and universities we visited were engaged in 

efforts designed to enhance the learning experience for students, primarily 

by creating smaller communities that foster greater connections to the 

institution. These approaches aim to increase students’ engagement in 

academics and provide them with a network of faculty and other students 

who can support them academically and socially. These approaches are 

employed both in and out of the classroom, and most focus on easing the 

transition from high school to college for first-year college students. 

Linking courses. Several of the colleges we visited are trying to enhance 

the learning environment by giving students a small classroom experience 

that will provide them greater opportunities to connect with faculty and 

their peers, not unlike the experience they would have had in high school. 

For example, Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi, a Hispanic Serving 

Institution,19 requires all full-time, first-year students to enroll in learning 

communities—clusters of three or four classes in which the course 

content is linked. Students are typically enrolled in a large lecture course 

with 150 or more students and two other courses with 25 or fewer 

students from the lecture course. In addition to covering course content, 

instructors help students learn how to succeed in their first year of 

college, helping with topics such as study skills on an as needed basis. 

Portland State University provides its students smaller learning 

communities in the freshman and sophomore years through its University 

Studies program. According to officials there, the university developed the 

program in 1994 to address disappointing retention rates from the 

freshman to sophomore year. Officials told us that, because few students 

live on campus, the university has to create opportunities for students to 

 19Hispanic Serving Institutions are defined as having at least 25 percent of their full-time 

equivalent students who are Hispanic, of which no less than 50 percent are low-income 

individuals. 

Four-Year Institutions 

Foster Completion by 

Improving Learning and 

Support of Students 

Enhancing the Learning 

Experience 
Page 22 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

connect to the campus via the classroom. The required freshman and 

sophomore courses are comprised of 35-40 students who meet as a whole 

with faculty and in smaller mentor sessions, led by upper-level or graduate 

students. Officials told us they think the upper-level students who serve as 

peer mentors for the freshman classes are particularly helpful for many 

first-generation college students who attend the university and may find 

college more difficult to navigate. 

Officials at both universities reported positive outcomes for these learning 

programs. Specifically, at Texas A & M students withdrew from the large 

lecture courses at lower rates and had higher grades in these courses 

when taken as part of the learning community. They also attributed 

retention rates for first-year minority students that are on par with other 

first-year students to the learning communities. At Portland State, officials 

attributed increases in retention from the freshman to sophomore year, as 

well as from the sophomore to junior year, to its University Studies 

program. 

Using service learning. Connecting classroom learning to the 

community is another approach colleges are taking to enhance the 

learning experience and create a sense of belonging. The Regional 

Ecosystem Applied Learning Corps was established in 1997 through 

partnership between Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, and 

community and government organizations. This AmeriCorps20 program 

engages students in the classroom and through community-based projects 

dealing with land management issues. One student, who went to college 

directly from high school but left after 2 years, told us that the Regional 

Ecosystem Applied Learning Corps played a large part in his decision to 

finish his bachelor’s degree because it allowed him to connect his studies 

to the community while working. He noted that it was difficult to return 

after a 4-year break because college life felt unfamiliar to him. 

Providing residential learning opportunities. For those students who 

live on campus, some colleges are aiming to improve the learning 

experience by enhancing educational opportunities available to students 

in the residence halls. Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, 

instituted its first “living-learning community” in a residence hall in the fall 

 20AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage about 50,000 

Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, 

health, and the environment. 
Page 23 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

of 1997 as a way to provide freshmen with a smaller community that 

would facilitate connections with faculty and students. An official at the 

institution told us that the size of the institution is an obstacle in retaining 

students because it is easy for students at a large research university with 

over 36,000 students to feel lost. Students live in a residence hall together 

and have to take at least one class in the building. Required weekly 

meetings help students navigate services available to them on the campus. 

Florida State reported that 5 years after the freshman class of 1997 entered 

the institution, 77 percent of students who participated in the first livinglearning community had graduated, while the graduation rates of other oncampus students and those living off campus was around 60 percent.21

Promoting Scholarship. The University of Maryland-Baltimore County 

established the Meyerhoff Scholars Program to increase the numbers of 

minorities pursuing doctoral study in math, science, engineering, and 

computer science.22 In addition to the academic requirements, the scholars 

participate in activities designed to expose them to scientific careers, such 

as field trips and research experiences. University officials credit the 

program with much of the success the university has had with minority 

students—the 6-year graduation rate is higher for black students than for 

white. Officials attribute part of this success to the role Meyerhoff scholars 

play in motivating other minority students at the institution. 

All of the colleges and universities we visited were engaged in efforts to 

strengthen support of their students to ensure their academic success and 

retention. Colleges support their students by providing services such as 

academic advising, financial aid counseling, and academic support 

services such as tutoring. Colleges also provide supports designed to ease 

the transition from high school or community college to a 4-year 

institution. In some cases, colleges are changing how they deliver support 

services to ensure the needs of students are met. For example, colleges 

may colocate many of their support services to make it easy for students 

to access them. 

 21Florida State reported that the comparison groups were randomly selected and there was 

no difference among the three groups in terms of SAT scores. However, because students 

decide whether to participate in a living-learning community, the effects of self-selection 

cannot be ruled out. 

22The scholarship program is open to students of any race. 

Strengthening Support of 

Students 
Page 24 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Colocating support services. During our site visits, we found that 

several of the institutions we visited are colocating support services to 

make it easier for students to access those services. In 2000, Prairie View 

A & M University, a historically black institution in Prairie View, Texas, 

implemented a comprehensive support system for freshmen. By groups of 

100-125 students, freshmen are assigned to 1 of 12 academic teams. These 

teams consist of a professional adviser, residence hall staff, and a faculty 

fellow. The groups generally live together in residence halls close to all the 

services they might need, such as advising, academic support services 

such as tutoring, and financial aid counseling. Advisers work closely with 

the learning community manager and two community assistants, 

professional staff who reside in each hall. Officials think having advisers 

and residence hall staff working together provides many opportunities to 

intervene with students in time to get them connected with the services 

they need. 

Consolidating offices. Some of the institutions have also made 

organizational changes to ensure that most of the offices providing 

support to students are working together. The University of Central 

Florida, for example, merged the student affairs office with the enrollment 

management office and, according to officials, having this one office 

responsible for recruitment and retention ensures that a wide range of 

efforts can be coordinated across the cycle of student life. 

Improving academic advising. Most of the colleges we visited had made 

changes to improve academic advising services provided to students with 

the idea that students need consistent and accurate advisement to stay on 

the path to graduation. To respond to student complaints that advisers in 

their majors did not know enough about general graduation requirements, 

Florida State University centrally hired a total of 40 full-time advisers to 

work in the individual departments. According to one official, when 

individual departments hired advisers, the amount of time spent advising 

students declined over time as other responsibilities were assigned to 

those advisers. Retaining central control of the advisers ensures that 

advising is consistently available to students and that students receive 

advisement on both departmental and nondepartmental issues. Portland 

State University developed a system that allows students to stay abreast of 

where they are in terms of graduating. Advisers can use the system to help 

students develop a course plan and identify any remaining coursework 

they need for graduation. 

Using proactive intervention strategies. Many of the institutions we 

visited have approaches designed to proactively intervene with students in 
Page 25 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

an effort to retain them to graduation. Several of the institutions reported 

that they have a warning system in place to identify students whose midterm grades or cumulative grade point averages drop below a certain level. 

These students are contacted and encouraged to meet with an adviser and 

to make them aware of the different services available to help them. 

Contacting students by telephone is an approach some of the smaller 

institutions we visited employ to intervene with students. For example, 

Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon, is proactive in calling 

students who are not attending classes based on faculty reports. To 

improve its 6-year graduation rate, Coppin State College, an historically 

black institution, in Baltimore, Maryland, has been contacting those 

students who have not pre-registered for the fall semester, but are within 

reach of graduating within 6 years of when they started. Officials believe 

calling students lets them know that someone at the college is interested 

in them as an individual and reinforces their commitment to return. 

Providing academic support services. Most institutions cited academic 

support services as an approach to retaining students. Examples of these 

services include tutoring, walk-in centers that provide assistance with 

areas like writing and math, and programs that support special 

populations such as low-income and first-generation college students. 

Over half of the institutions we visited provide these types of services to 

students before they have enrolled in college to ease the transition from 

high school to college. In these summer bridge programs, students 

typically take a couple of courses, along with seminars that cover topics 

designed to help them succeed in college, such as time management and 

study skills. Generally, fewer than 100 students participate in these 

programs, which allows the institution to provide more intensive and 

personalized services. Institutions generally reported that the retention 

rate from the freshman to sophomore year for these students is 

comparable to or higher than the general population. A couple of 

institutions reported higher graduation rates for these students, but some 

officials noted that their 6-year graduation rates may lag because some of 

these students take longer to graduate. 

Easing the transition for transfer students. Some institutions are 

engaged in efforts to encourage and ease the transition of students from a 

2-year institution to a 4-year institution. For example, the University of 

Central Florida has forged relationships with area community colleges and 

has established satellite campuses at community colleges in Orlando and 

the surrounding area. The university’s satellite campuses are designed for 

those students for whom transferring to a 4-year college may be difficult 

because of work and family commitments. The university has dedicated 
Page 26 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

faculty and staff at these satellite campuses to ensure students receive the 

same education and services they would at the main campus. Advisers 

who travel among the satellite campuses ensure that students can obtain 

academic advising without traveling to the main campus. 

Education fosters bachelor’s degree completion through programs that 

provide financial and academic support to students, but little is known 

about the effects of these programs on college completion. Education has 

also established goals for increasing college completion and strengthening 

the accountability of colleges. While Education has some dissemination 

efforts—mainly through its academic support programs and through its 

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education program—it does 

not have systematic efforts in place to identify and share promising 

practices in the areas of retention and graduation with states and colleges 

that are looking for strategies to help them better retain their students. 

In order to help students pay for a college degree, the federal student aid 

programs provide billions of dollars to help students finance college with 

the objective that students will complete their programs. The Federal 

Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct 

Loan Program, two major federal student loan programs authorized in 

Title IV of the Higher Education Act, together provided student borrowers 

with about 9 million new loans totaling $35 billion in fiscal year 2001. The 

Pell Grant Program, designed to help the neediest undergraduate students, 

expended $8 billion to provide grants to nearly 4 million students in 

2000-2001. To be eligible for these programs, students must be enrolled in 

a degree- or certificate-granting program. While Education has made these 

funds available, we reported in September 2002 that little information is 

available on the relative effectiveness of Title IV grants and loans in 

promoting postsecondary attendance, choice, and completion, or their 

impact on college costs.23 Among other things, we noted that data and 

methodological challenges make it difficult to isolate the impact of grants 

and loans. 

 23U.S. General Accounting Office, Student Aid and Tax Benefits: Better Research and 

Guidance Will Facilitate Comparison of Effectiveness and Student Use, GAO-02-751

(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 13, 2002). 

Education Has 

Programs to Foster 

College Completion, 

but No Systematic 

Efforts to Identify and 

Disseminate 

Information on 

Promising Practices 

Programs Provide 

Financial Resources and 

Academic Support to 

Students, but Little Is 

Known about Their 

Effectiveness 
Page 27 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Education administers three academic support programs aimed at 

students who are low-income, first-generation, or disabled that have 

college completion as a primary goal. Student Support Services provides 

academic support to students at the college level, while the Upward 

Bound program and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for 

Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve students before they enter 

college.24 GEAR UP differs from Student Support Services and Upward 

Bound, which identify and invite individual students to participate. GEAR 

UP serves an entire grade of students at participating schools beginning no 

later than the seventh grade and follows them through high school. 

According to program officials, the program begins no later than the 

seventh grade because high school is too late to begin working with 

students on the preparation that leads to college. Table 1 provides an 

overview of the three programs. 

 24Student Support Services and Upward Bound are part of TRIO, a cluster of six 

educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students 

from disadvantaged backgrounds through the educational pipeline. The other TRIO 

programs have goals for, among other things, increasing enrollment in postsecondary 

education, encouraging students to pursue undergraduate degrees in mathematics and 

science, and increasing the attainment of doctoral degrees among certain groups of 

students. While increasing college completion is not an explicit goal of these programs, 

increases in completion for participating students may be an indirect result of the services 

the programs provide. 
Page 28 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Table 1: Overview of Education Programs That Have College Completion as a Primary Goal 

Program Purpose 

Target 

population Services provided 

FY 2002 funding

(in millions)

Students 

served

TRIO Student 

Support 

Services 

Increase 

graduation and 

retention rates. 

Low-income, firstgeneration, or 

disabled college 

students. 

Counseling, tutoring, supplemental 

grants for qualifying students. 

$263 198,551

TRIO Upward 

Bound 

Increase 

postsecondary 

enrollment and 

success.a

High school 

students who are 

from low-income 

families or from 

families where 

neither parent has 

a college degree. 

Instruction required in subjects such 

as math, science, and composition. 

Services such as counseling, 

tutoring, mentoring, assistance 

completing financial aid and college 

entrance applications; information 

on postsecondary opportunities, and 

work study positions. 

$264 56,324

GEAR UP Increase the 

number of lowincome students 

who are prepared 

to enter and 

succeed in 

postsecondary 

education. 

Entire grades of 

students at 

participating lowincome schools 

starting no later 

than the seventh 

grade. 

Relies on participating schools and 

partners to provide services that 

promote academic preparation and 

an understanding of college costs, 

provide professional development, 

and continuously build capacity to 

sustain projects beyond the grant 

term. Also provides scholarships for 

participants who enroll in 

postsecondary education. 

$285 1,236,606

Source: Department of Education. 

a

Education interprets success as graduating from institutions of postsecondary education. 

In 2001, Student Support Services added a financial assistance component 

as a tool to increase retention and graduation of student participants. 

Specifically, Student Support Services permits the use of grant aid for 

current Student Support Services participants who are already receiving 

federal Pell Grants. These funds are intended to increase retention and 

graduation by reducing the amount of financial need or money eligible 

participants have to borrow in their first 2 years of study.25

Student Support Services is the only program for which information on the 

effectiveness of the program on college completion is available. 

Specifically, a preliminary evaluation of the program found that 

participants had higher bachelor’s degree completion rates as compared to 

a control group of similar students not receiving those services. However, 

 25Institutions can award funds to students who have completed their first 2 years of study if 

they can demonstrate that the students are at high risk for dropping out and the needs of 

students in the first 2 years of study have been met. 
Page 29 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

it is too early to determine the impact of the grant aid component of the 

program, given that it was first implemented in the 2001-2002 academic 

year. According to Education officials, it is also too early to determine the 

impact of Upward Bound and GEAR UP on college completion because 

students are not expected to have completed college yet.26

In its 2002-2007 strategic plan, Education has established goals of reducing 

the gaps in college participation and completion among certain student 

populations and increasing completion rates overall. Education has 

identified some strategies for meeting these goals, such as focusing on 

improving the K-12 system, improving the readiness of low-income and 

minority students for college, and improving the effectiveness of support 

services for low-income and minority students. The performance 

measure—institutional graduation rates—Education uses for assessing its 

progress toward the goal of increasing completion rates understates the 

percentage of students who actually complete bachelor’s degrees, because 

the measure does not account for students who transfer and complete 

their degrees at institutions different from where they started. However, 

this is the only information available on an annual basis. Other 

longitudinal studies, such as BPS, provide more information but are costly 

to administer. Education has not established other performance measures 

for assessing progress toward its college completion goal. 

Education has also established a goal for strengthening accountability of 

postsecondary institutions in its strategic plan. Specifically, Education is 

looking to ensure that colleges are graduating their students in a timely 

manner. Education thinks making information on student achievement 

and attainment available to the public is one way to hold institutions 

accountable for their performance because prospective students can use 

this information to make informed choices about where to attend college. 

Education has begun to discuss this issue with the higher education 

community and asked the community for ideas on how to strengthen 

accountability of postsecondary institutions. As part of its efforts, 

 26A 1999 review of Upward Bound conducted for Education concluded that while the 

program did not increase enrollments among participants, it did have positive results for 

students who enrolled in college. Among other things, Upward Bound participants at 4-year 

colleges earned more nonremedial credits than a control group. The study authors 

stressed, however, that these results should be interpreted with caution because only about 

one-fourth of the students in the study had entered college at the time they were last 

contacted, and one-third were still in high school. Results from a more recent followup 

were not available in time to be included in this report. 

Education Has Identified 

Priorities for Increasing 

College Completion and 

Strengthening 

Accountability of 

Institutions 
Page 30 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Education has held panel discussions with student financial aid experts, 

state officials, and business leaders, among other participants, about 

improving accountability. Additionally, Education is considering 

“performance-based grants” to provide incentives to colleges for timely 

graduation. In one state, however, where this was tried, there were 

concerns that the grant created perverse incentives to increase graduation 

rates, such as reducing the number of credits required for graduation. 

Education has some efforts to disseminate information on retention and 

completion; however, it does not have a systematic effort in place to 

identify and disseminate promising practices in these areas. Education has 

commissioned studies on the factors that affect college completion, and it 

has some evaluations on student retention—for example, one study 

dealing with retention strategies for students with disabilities and one on 

Hispanic students. It has not, however, systematically conducted research 

to determine what strategies have been effective in helping colleges and 

universities retain their students. Additionally, Education has some 

retention and completion dissemination efforts in place. For example, 

GEAR UP and TRIO grantees have the opportunity to share information 

with each other at annual conferences organized by private groups. 

Education facilitates information sharing through the TRIO Dissemination 

Partnership Program, which provides funding for TRIO grantees with 

promising practices to work with other institutions and community-based 

organizations that serve low-income and first-generation college students 

but do not have TRIO grants. The program is intended to increase the 

impact of TRIO programs by reaching more low-income, first-generation 

college students. Only a small number of grantees are disseminating 

information through this program—in fiscal year 2002, Education provided 

$3.4 million to 17 grantees. In these instances, only institutions and 

organizations that formally partner with grantees are likely to have the 

opportunity to learn about promising practices. Furthermore, promising 

practices that are employed by institutions outside these programs are not 

captured. 

According to agency officials, another effort in which dissemination 

occurs is within the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education’s Comprehensive Program. This 30-year old program seeks to 

help improve access and quality of postsecondary institutions by funding 

small promising practices grants. According to an official of the 

Comprehensive Program, the grants are for a 3-year period, with an 

average annual award amount of between $50,000 and $200,000. Last year, 

the program awarded $31 million for grant activities—including new 

Education Has Some 

Evaluation and 

Dissemination Efforts 
Page 31 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

awards of about $10 million. The grants cover all aspects of postsecondary 

improvement, and within the areas of retention and completion there are 

grants for, among other things, creating learning communities, reviewing 

remedial and introductory courses to find more effective approaches, and 

developing innovative methods of delivering support services. 

Dissemination efforts include a searchable project database on its Web 

site; four published volumes of promising practices (the most recent 

publication was in 2000); specific dissemination grants expressly aimed at 

replicating particularly promising practices for retention and completion; 

dissemination plans built into the actual grants; and annual meetings 

where project information is shared. Each grant has an evaluation 

component and the Comprehensive Program is currently being reviewed 

for, among other things, the efficacy of these evaluation efforts. 

As policymakers and others consider what is necessary to ensure 

accountability in higher education, the issue of how to measure 

performance becomes more important. While some states have used 

graduation rates to promote accountability, such measures may not fully 

reflect an institution’s performance. Graduation rates do not capture 

differences in mission, selectivity, programmatic offerings, or student 

learning outcomes. Nor do they account for another goal of higher 

education, increasing participation. In other words, a college or university 

could have a low rate of completion, but still be providing access. As 

policymakers consider ways to hold colleges and universities accountable 

for their performance, it may be possible to use multiple measures that 

capture an institution’s performance in regard to how well its students are 

educated through the use of student learning outcomes, in addition to its 

performance in graduating them. 

States, institutions of higher education, and Education are engaged in a 

variety of efforts to retain and graduate students. Education does have 

some efforts to evaluate and disseminate information related to retention 

and completion; however, it does not systematically identify and 

disseminate information on those practices that hold promise for 

increasing retention and graduation rates across all sectors of higher 

education. Such information could benefit colleges and universities that 

are looking for new approaches to better serve their students and seek to 

avoid duplicating unsuccessful efforts. As policymakers consider new 

ways to hold postsecondary institutions accountable for retaining and 

graduating their students, it becomes more important to widely 

disseminate promising practices in these areas. Having Education identify 

and disseminate promising practices in the areas of retention and 

Conclusions 
Page 32 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

graduation would help ensure that all colleges and universities have 

access to the same level of information and can readily draw on those 

practices they think might help them better serve their students. 

As Education moves forward with its plan to hold colleges and universities 

accountable for their performance in graduating their students, we 

recommend that the Secretary of Education consider multiple measures 

that would help account for other goals of higher education, such as 

increasing participation, as well as differences in mission, selectivity, and 

programmatic offerings of postsecondary institutions. Education should 

work with states and colleges to determine what would be most helpful 

for strengthening the accountability of institutions and ensuring positive 

outcomes for students. 

We also recommend that the Secretary of Education take steps to identify 

and disseminate information about promising practices in the areas of 

retention and graduation across all sectors of postsecondary education. 

In written comments on a draft of this report, the Department of 

Education agreed with our recommendations but had some concerns 

about certain aspects of the draft report. Education commented that we 

could have included trend data on, for example, whether retention and 

completion are increasing or decreasing. While such information might 

have been interesting to include, we were specifically focusing on the 

current status of college completion. Education suggested in its letter that 

we could have used its two BPS studies for such an analysis. It would not 

be appropriate to use these two studies for identifying trends because they 

covered different time periods. For example, using the first BPS study—

which tracked students for 5 years—Education reported that 53 percent of 

students who began at a 4-year institution in 1989-90 earned a bachelor’s 

degree. Using the second BPS study—which tracked students for 

6 years—we reported that 59 percent of students who began at a 4-year 

institution in 1995-96 earned a bachelor’s degree. While the increase in 

graduation rates might have resulted from any number of factors, the most 

likely reason is because an additional year was included in the calculation. 

The Department correctly noted that we did not address student financial 

aid in our analysis. We have addressed this issue in our discussion of the 

report’s objectives, scope, and methodology section (see app. I). 

Recommendations 

Agency Comments 
Page 33 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

With respect to Education’s comment about how the effects of being 

disadvantaged are accounted for in our analysis, we agree that performing 

a more sophisticated analysis to account for the indirect effects of being 

disadvantaged on completion may have yielded a more complete picture 

of college completion. However, our analysis was designed to provide 

overall descriptive information on completion rates while taking into 

account certain differences among students. 

Education had concerns that our report did not sufficiently recognize the 

role of its Graduation Rate Survey (GRS). While we did not directly 

discuss GRS, we did explain the legislative requirements regarding 

institutional reporting of graduation rates. Education developed GRS to 

help institutions comply with this requirement. Additionally, with respect 

to GRS, we sought clarification of Education’s statement that GRS is the 

basis for state efforts to track graduation rates; however, officials did not 

provide us with information that would support this statement. In looking 

at this issue, it is clear that the type of data states collect is different from 

the GRS data. Specifically, GRS collects only summary data from 

institutions on graduation rates, whereas by using data on individual 

students, the states we highlighted have the ability to not only calculate 

graduation rates but to track student transfers across the state. 

Furthermore, officials in two states we visited told us that they have had 

the ability to track individual students for over 10 years, long before 

information from the GRS would have been available—making it 

impossible for GRS to be the basis of these systems as Education 

suggested. We also believe that Education’s statement that we do not 

acknowledge the limitations of the state systems with respect to tracking 

student transfers is inaccurate. Our draft clearly stated that tracking is 

limited to student transfers within the state. 

Finally, with regard to Education’s concern that our report does not 

recognize its efforts to identify and disseminate information on retention 

and completion, we believe Education may have misunderstood our 

discussion about their efforts. We clearly highlight Education’s efforts to 

identify and disseminate information through studies on the factors that 

affect retention and completion. However, we conclude that Education 

does not systematically identify and disseminate information on those 

practices that hold promise for increasing retention and graduation rates 

across all sectors of higher education. 

Education also provided technical comments, which we incorporated 

where appropriate. Education’s comments appear in appendix IV. 
Page 34 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce its contents 

earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days from its 

issue date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to appropriate 

congressional committees, the Secretary of Education, and other 

interested parties. Copies will also be made available to others upon 

request. In addition, this report will be available at no charge on GAO’s 

Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you have any questions about this report, please contact me on 

(202) 512-8403. Other contacts and acknowledgments are listed in 

appendix V. 

Cornelia M. Ashby 

Director, Education, Workforce, 

 and Income Security Issues 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Page 35 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

You asked us to determine (1) the extent to which students—including 

those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds—who enroll in a 4-year 

college or university complete a bachelor’s degree and the factors that 

affect bachelor’s degree completion; (2) what states and 4-year colleges 

and universities are doing to foster bachelor’s degree completion and what 

is known about the effectiveness of these efforts; and (3) what the U.S. 

Department of Education is doing to foster bachelor’s degree completion. 

To determine the extent to which students—including those from lower 

socioeconomic backgrounds—who enroll in a 4-year college or university 

complete a bachelor’s degree and to identify the factors that affect 

bachelor’s degree completion, we analyzed Education’s 1995-96 Beginning 

Postsecondary Students (BPS) study. BPS is a longitudinal study1

 that 

followed the retention and degree completion of students from the time 

they enrolled in any postsecondary institution over a 6-year period. It is 

based on a sample of students who were enrolled in postsecondary 

education for the first time in 1995-1996 and participated in Education’s 

1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:96). NPSAS:96 

consisted of a nationally representative sample of all students enrolled in 

postsecondary education during the 1995-96 academic year. Information 

for NPSAS:96 was obtained from more than 830 postsecondary institutions 

for approximately 44,500 undergraduate and 11,200 graduate and firstprofessional students. The sample of undergraduates represented about 

16.7 million students, including about 3 million first-time beginning 

students, who were enrolled at some time between July 1, 1995 and June 

30, 1996. This BPS study began with a sample of approximately 

12,000 students who were identified in NPSAS: 96 as having entered 

postsecondary education for the first time in 1995-1996. Education 

followed up with these students via computer-assisted telephone 

interviews in both 1998 and 2001. In addition to obtaining data from 

students through these interviews, data were obtained from other sources, 

including institutions and the Educational Testing Service, which 

administers standardized tests, such as the SAT I and Advanced Placement 

tests. Education has published reports that provide information about 

student enrollment and the rates of persistence, transfer, and degree 

attainment for students. 

 1

The first BPS study tracked the educational attainment of a group of students who first 

enrolled in postsecondary education in 1989-90. The next scheduled BPS study will follow 

students who first enroll in postsecondary education in the 2003-04 school year. 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Page 36 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

For our purposes, we analyzed a subset of these data. We only included 

students who in 1995-96 were enrolled in a 4-year institution or were 

enrolled at another type of institution, but transferred to a 4-year 

institution at some point during the 6-year period. Our analysis excluded 

other types of students, such as community college students who did not 

transfer to a 4-year institution because the focus of our study was on 

bachelor’s degree completion. We first grouped students into three 

categories: those who, after 6 years (1) had completed a bachelor’s degree; 

(2) had not completed a bachelor’s degree, but were still enrolled in a 

4-year institution; and (3) had not completed a bachelor’s degree and were 

no longer enrolled in a 4-year institution. We then calculated the 

percentage of our population in each group overall and by various 

characteristics relating to personal background, academic preparation and 

performance, college attendance and work patterns, and social integration 

as shown in appendix II. 

We focused on factors that affect whether or not students completed a 

bachelor’s degree by the end of the 6-year period and looked at the effect 

of the various characteristics mentioned above on college completion. We 

did not include student aid variables in our analysis. Resource constraints 

and the timing of the release of the BPS data made it difficult to examine 

the effect of student aid variables given their complexity and year-to-year 

variation. We first examined the independent effect of each characteristic 

on completion without controlling for differences among individuals. Each 

of these independent effects, with the exception of delaying entry into 

college, was statistically significant. However, because of the strong 

relationships among these characteristics, it is more accurate to explain 

the variance in completion rates using multivariate analysis, which tests 

the effect of each characteristic on completion while controlling for the 

effects of all the other characteristics. 

Logistic regression is a standard procedure used to estimate the effect of a 

characteristic on a particular outcome. The model uses odds ratios to 

estimate the relative likelihood of completing a bachelor’s degree within 

6 years of beginning postsecondary education. The odds ratios for various 

characteristics are shown in appendix III. For a particular characteristic, if 

there were no difference between students who completed within 6 years 

and those who did not, the odds would be equal, and the ratio of their odds 

would be 1.00. The more the odds ratio differs from 1.00 in either 

direction, the larger the effect on completion. For example, an odds ratio 

below 1.00 indicates a lower likelihood of completion for a student with 

that particular characteristic, all else being equal. The odds ratios were 

generally computed in relation to a reference group; for example, if the 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Page 37 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

odds ratio refers to being a dependent student, then the reference group 

would be independent students. Some characteristics, such as grade point 

average and age, are continuous in nature. In these cases, the odds ratio 

can be interpreted as representing the increase in the likelihood of 

completing college given a 1-unit increase in the continuous variable. An 

odds ratio that is statistically significant is denoted with the superscript a. 

The characteristics we used in our model explain 38 percent of the 

variance in bachelor’s degree completion. 

Because the estimates we use in this report are based on survey data, 

there is some sampling error associated with them. This occurs because 

observations are made on a sample of students rather than the entire 

student population. All percentage estimates we present from the BPS 

data have sampling errors of ±3 percentage points or less, unless 

otherwise noted. Furthermore, tests of statistical significance were 

performed using software to take into account the complex survey design 

and sampling errors. In addition to the reported sampling errors, the 

practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce other types 

of errors, commonly referred to as nonsampling errors. For example, 

differences in how a particular question is interpreted, in the reliability of 

data self reported by students, or the types of students who do not 

respond can introduce unwanted variability into the survey results. 

To identify what states and 4-year colleges and universities are doing to 

foster bachelor’s degree completion, we conducted a survey of the 59 state 

higher education executive officer agencies in all 50 states, the District of 

Columbia, and Puerto Rico and visited 5 states and 11 public colleges and 

universities within those states.2

 We received completed questionnaires 

from 48 of the 52 states and territories we surveyed, a response rate of 

92 percent. We took steps in the development of the questionnaires, the 

data collection, and the data editing and analysis to minimize nonsampling 

errors. For example, we pretested the questionnaire with 3 states to refine 

the survey instrument, and we called individual respondents, if necessary, 

to clarify answers. 

 2

The population for our survey was the membership list of the State Higher Education 

Executive Officers association, a nonprofit, national association of the chief executive 

officers serving statewide coordinating and governing boards of postsecondary education. 

Seven states have two association agencies, and we received responses from both agencies 

in four states. In none of these cases did the responses conflict with one another. We 

combined multiple responses from one state into a single unified response for that state. 

We checked with each respondent to obtain approval for this procedure. 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Page 38 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

We conducted site visits in Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. 

We chose states and colleges to visit based upon our discussions with 

experts and preliminary information from our survey. Additionally, we 

selected these states and institutions based on geographic dispersion and 

the variety of efforts reported to us by experts and in the survey. In each 

state, we met with state higher education officials to discuss college 

completion in general and specific efforts taking place in their states. In 

each of these states, we also visited colleges that were viewed by state 

officials as doing particularly well in working with their students to help 

them complete a bachelor’s degree. We met with college officials to 

discuss their efforts to improve retention and help students attain a 

bachelor’s degree. 

To identify what Education is doing to foster bachelor’s degree 

completion, we talked with Education officials and reviewed program and 

planning documents. We conducted our work between April 2002 and May 

2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

practices. 
Appendix II: Bachelor’s Degree Completion 

Status of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary 

Students 6 Years after Enrolling 

Page 39 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Numbers in percent 

Characteristic 

Student 

population by 

characteristic 

Completed 

bachelor’s 

Did not complete 

bachelor’s

No bachelor’s, 

still enrolled at 

4-year 

No bachelor’s, 

not enrolled at 

4-yeara

Overall percentage 52 48 14 34

Background characteristics 

Sex 

Female 52 57 43 18 25

Male 48 47 53 25 29

Race 

White, non-Hispanic 73 55 45 20 25

Black, non-Hispanic 10 38 62 23 40

Hispanic 10 40 60 28 32

Asian/Pacific Islander 6 55 45 25 20

Other 1 58 42 11 30

Age when first enrolled 

18 and under 77 59 41 19 22

19 12 36 64 30 34

20-23 6 21 79 33 46

24-29 2 27 73 33 40

30 and over 3 15 85 33 52

Socioeconomic status disadvantaged index 

Not disadvantaged 58 58 42 20 22

Disadvantaged 42 44 56 23 33

Dependent statusb

 

Dependent 90 56 44 20 25

Independent, no children 4 22 78 35 43

Independent, married with 

children 3 23 77 36 41

Independent, not married, 

with children 3 21 79 36 43

First generation to attend college 

No 57 59 41 21 19

Yes 43 43 57 22 35

Academic preparation & performance 

High school completion 

Diploma 97 53 47 21 25

GED/Other 3 27 73 27 46

High school curriculum 

Did not meet new basics 27 47 53 23 30

Met new basics, not rigorous 7 48 52 19 33

Slightly rigorous 30 55 45 18 28

Moderately rigorous 19 65 35 18 17

Highly rigorous 16 81 19 8 11

Appendix II: Bachelor’s Degree Completion 

Status of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary 

Students 6 Years after Enrolling 
Appendix II: Bachelor’s Degree Completion 

Status of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary 

Students 6 Years after Enrolling 

Page 40 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Numbers in percent 

Characteristic 

Student 

population by 

characteristic 

Completed 

bachelor’s 

Did not complete 

bachelor’s

No bachelor’s, 

still enrolled at 

4-year 

No bachelor’s, 

not enrolled at 

4-yeara

High school grades 

A to A 26 78 22 11 11

A- to B 21 60 40 18 23

B to B- 11 39 61 25 36

B- to C 7 33 67 26 41

C to D 36 37 63 29 35

SAT scorec

 

Lowest quartile (<800) 41 32 68 30 38

Middle quartiles (800-1100) 41 60 40 18 22

Highest quartile (>1100) 18 79 21 9 12

First-year college GPA 

> 3.0 34 71 29 16 13

2.0 to 3.0 39 51 49 22 27

< 2.0 27 29 71 27 44

Attendance & work patterns 

Delayed college after high schoold

No 82 59 41 18 23

Yes 18 24 76 35 41

College attendance 

Part-time or mix of part- and 

full-time 43 34 66 35 32

Full-time 57 66 34 11 23

Continuous enrollment 

No 27 15 85 45 40

Yes 73 66 34 12 22

Work during college 

Did not work 31 61 39 16 24

Less than 10 hours 15 61 39 14 25

Between 10 and 19 hours 17 63 37 16 22

Between 20 and 31 hours 24 41 59 30 29

Full-time (32 hours or more) 13 28 72 34 38
Appendix II: Bachelor’s Degree Completion 

Status of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary 

Students 6 Years after Enrolling 

Page 41 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Numbers in percent 

Characteristic 

Student 

population by 

characteristic 

Completed 

bachelor’s 

Did not complete 

bachelor’s

No bachelor’s, 

still enrolled at 

4-year 

No bachelor’s, 

not enrolled at 

4-yeara

Transferred to a 4-year 

institution 

No 55 69 31 9 22

Yes 45 32 68 36 32

Social integration 

Participated in study groups 

No 33 40 60 27 33

Yes 67 59 41 18 23

Participated in collegiate clubs 

No 58 41 59 26 32

Yes 42 68 32 14 18

Source: Department of Education. 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s BPS 1995/96 data. 

a

This includes students who were not enrolled in postsecondary education and those who were 

enrolled at a 2-year institution or less at the end of the 6-year period . These student may have 

earned an associate’s degree or certificate. 

b

Student dependency status for federal financial aid during 1995-96. Students age 23 or younger 

were assumed to be dependent unless they met the independent student criteria, including being 

married or having legal dependents, other than a spouse. 

c

Student’s SAT I combined score. This variable was derived as either the sum of SAT I verbal and 

mathematics test scores or the ACT Assessment (American College Testing program) composite 

score converted to an estimated SAT combined score using a concordance table. The primary source 

of data were from a match with the SAT files from the Educational Testing Service and the ACT test 

files of the American College Testing programs, supplemented by postsecondary institution reported 

and student-reported information. The quartiles were derived from the distribution of the test scores 

among the BPS cohort sample students. 

d

Indicates whether student delayed enrollment in postsecondary education, as determined by receipt 

of a high school diploma prior to 1995 or reaching the age of 20 before December 31, 1995. 
Appendix III: Results of Regression Models 

for Bachelor’s Degree Completion within 6 

Years of Beginning College 

Page 42 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Characteristic 

Completed a 

bachelor’s 

degree within 

6 years 

Odds ratioindependent 

effect 

Odds rationet effect

Background characteristics 

Sex 

Female 57 a a 

Male 47 0.66b 0.83

Race 

White, non-Hispanic 55 a a 

Black, non-Hispanic 38 0.48b

0.62b

Hispanic 40 0.53b

0.68

Asian/Pacific Islander 55 0.99 0.76

Other 58 1.12 0.52

Age 

18 and under 59 

19 36 

20-23 21 

24-29 27 

30 and over 15 

0.86b

0.93

Socioeconomic status disadvantaged index 

Not disadvantaged 58 a a 

Disadvantaged 44 0.56b

1.06

Dependent statusc

 

Dependent 56 a a 

Independent, no children 22 0.22b

Independent, married with 

children 23 0.24b

Independent, not married, with 

children 21 0.21b

0.52

First generation to attend college 

No 59 a a 

Yes 43 0.51b

0.66b

Academic preparation & performance 

High School Completion 

Diploma 53 a a 

GED/Other 27 0.32b

0.63

High school curriculum 

Did not meet New Basics 47 

Met New Basics, not rigorous 48 

Slightly rigorous 55 

Moderately rigorous 65 

Highly rigorous 81 

1.39b

1.14b

Appendix III: Results of Regression Models 

for Bachelor’s Degree Completion within 6 

Years of Beginning College 
Appendix III: Results of Regression Models 

for Bachelor’s Degree Completion within 6 

Years of Beginning College 

Page 43 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Characteristic 

Completed a 

bachelor’s 

degree within 

6 years 

Odds ratioindependent 

effect 

Odds rationet effect

High school grades 

A to A- 78 

A- to B 60 

B to B- 39 

B- to C 33 

C to D 37 

2.08b

1.17b

SAT Scored

 

Lowest quartile (<800) 32 

Middle quartiles (800-1100) 60 

Highest quartile (>1100) 79 

1.41b1.03

First-year college GPA 

> 3.0 71 

2.0 to 2.9 51 

< 2.0 29 

2.45b

2.24b

Work & attendance patterns 

Delayed college after high schoole

No 59 a a 

Yes 24 0.99 1.01

College attendance 

Part-time or mix of part- and fulltime 34 a a 

Full-time 66 3.89b

2.31b

Continuous enrollment 

No 15 a a 

Yes 66 10.81b

6.22b

Work during college 

Did not work 61 a a 

Worked Less than 10 hours 61 1.00 0.86

Between 10 and 19 hours 63 1.09 0.79

Between 20 and 31 hours 41 0.45b

0.62b

Full-time (32 hours or more) 26 0.25b

0.49b
Appendix III: Results of Regression Models 

for Bachelor’s Degree Completion within 6 

Years of Beginning College 

Page 44 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Characteristic 

Completed a 

bachelor’s 

degree within 

6 years 

Odds ratioindependent 

effect 

Odds rationet effect

Transferred to a 4-year institution 

No 69 a a 

Yes 32 0.21b

 0.41b

Social integration 

Participated in study groups 

No 40 a a 

Yes 59 2.17b

 0.99

Participated in collegiate clubs 

No 41 a a 

Yes 68 3.04b

 1.54b

Source: Department of Education. 

Note: GAO analysis of Education’s BPS 1995/96 data. 

a

denotes referent category. 

b

Odds ratio is statistically significant at p<=0.05. 

c

Student dependency status for federal financial aid during 1995-96. Students age 23 or younger 

were assumed to be dependent unless they met the independent student criteria, including being 

married or having legal dependents, other than a spouse. 

d

Student’s SAT I combined score. This variable was derived as either the sum of SAT I verbal and 

mathematics test scores or the ACT Assessment (American College Testing program) composite 

score converted to an estimated SAT combined score using a concordance table. The primary source 

of data were from a match with the SAT files from the Educational Testing Service and the ACT test 

files of the American College Testing programs, supplemented by postsecondary institution reported 

and student-reported information. The quartiles were derived from the distribution of the test scores 

among the BPS cohort sample students. 

e

Indicates whether student delayed enrollment in postsecondary education, as determined by receipt 

of a high school diploma prior to 1995 or reaching the age of 20 before December 31, 1995. 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Education 

Page 45 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Appendix IV: Comments from the 

Department of Education 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Education 

Page 46 GAO-03-568 College Completion 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Education 

Page 47 GAO-03-568 College Completion 
Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

Page 48 GAO-03-568 College Completion 

Kelsey Bright, Assistant Director (202) 512-9037 

Debra Prescott, Analyst-in-Charge (202) 512-2972 

In addition to those named above, Rebecca Ackley, Avrum Ashery, Patrick 

diBattista, Kopp Michelotti, John Mingus, Luann Moy, Doug Sloane, and 

Wendy Turenne made important contributions to this report. 

Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

Contacts 

Acknowledgments 

(130131) 
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