Saturday’s News & Observer ran a lengthy article on the consequences of continued budget cuts to the UNC System. Among other things: UNC officials said a 7 percent cut would likely result in:
UNC officials said a 7 percent cut would likely result in a drop in the six-year graduation rate at N.C. State University from 70 to 65 percent.
Huh? Aside from the low graduation rates — another issue — a 5 percent decline in graduation rates is an exceptionally large change. In all honesty, the exact connection to the 7 percent budget cut eludes me. You'd think that graduation rates that decline quickly with a drop in funding would also rise just as quickly with new funding. But that's not that case. A five percent jump in graduation rates has been hard for NCSU — or any UNC institution for that matter — to come by. Hence, my confusion. Could it be the expected decline is the fallout from a reduction in available classes? If that’s the case, I would think NCSU officials might want to re-think its cuts and be unconventional: Don’t make cuts where they are likely to elicit the greatest howl.
Leave a Comment