The American Enterprise Institute has just published a new study that examines graduation rates in American higher education. The upshot:

At a time when college degrees are valuable–with employers paying a
premium for college graduates–fewer than 60 percent of new students
graduated from four-year colleges within six years. At many
institutions, graduation rates are far worse. Graduation rates may be
of limited import to students attending the couple hundred elite,
specialized institutions that dominate the popular imagination, but
there are vast disparities–even among schools educating similar students–at
the less selective institutions that educate the bulk of America’s
college students. At a time when President Barack Obama is proposing
vast new investments to promote college attendance and completion, and
has announced an intention to see the United States regain leadership
in such tallies, these results take on heightened significance.

Duke University shows up as having one of the highest graduation rates (94 percent) among the nation?s most competitive universities. Here are the other North Carolina findings:

93 percent-Davidson College

89 percent-Wake Forest University

83 percent-UNC-Chapel Hill

73 percent-Elon University

69 percent-NC State University

65 percent-UNC-Wilmington

63 percent-Appalachian State

62 percent-Meredith College

61 percent-Queens University

58 percent-Guilford College

57 percent-Gardner-Webb University

56 percent-High Point University

54 percent-UNC-Asheville

54 percent-East Carolina University

53 percent-Lenoir-Rhyne College

53 percent-Pfeiffer University

52 percent-Campbell University

52 percent-Salem College

51 percent-State Average

51 percent-Elizabeth City State University

51 percent-UNC-Charlotte

50 percent-UNC-Greensboro

49 percent-Belmont Abbey College

48 percent-NC Central University

48 percent-Western Carolina University

47 percent-Wingate University

45 percent-Warren Wilson College

45 percent-Winston-Salem State University

43 percent-St. Andrew?s Presbyterian College

42 percent-Catawba College

42 percent-Johnson C. Smith University

41 percent-Greensboro College

41 percent-NC A&T State University

40 percent-Methodist University

38 percent-Mars Hill College

38 percent-Barton College

36 percent-Fayetteville State University

36 percent-Shaw University

35 percent-Bennett College

34 percent-UNC-Pembroke  

32 percent-Livingtone College

31 percent-Lees-McRae College

31 percent-Saint Augustine’s College

31 percent-Montreat College

30 percent-Mount Olive College

28 percent-North Carolina Wesleyan College