No doubt there are multiple factors that contribute to the abysmal graduation rate at NC Central – at any university for that matter. But one fact is undeniable at NCCU. The K-12 system has not prepared many of its students for college-level course work. From the News & Observer (emphasis is mine):
Universities routinely track graduation rates using six-year data. In NCCU’s case, 49 percent of the 821 students who enrolled as first-time freshmen in 2002 graduated by 2008. Newer data is not yet available.
But officials say change is under way. The university has talked for years about retaining students and getting them to graduation day. But the issue received a new focus with the arrival nearly two years ago of Chancellor Charlie Nelms, who has a motto: “Graduation is your destination.”
A summer bridge program was created to teach freshmen study skills and jumpstart their writing and reading comprehension. The UNC system created minimum admissions standards for the first time.
Several years ago, then president of the NC Community College System — Martin Lancaster — said they had determined that roughly half of the system’s incoming high school grads required remedial help in order to tackle college level work.
This should tell us something about the K-12 system.
