UNCP 4-year graduate rate worst in UNC system

By Chris Nicolini
Web Editor

Earning an undergraduate degree is commonly thought of as a four-year process, but for the majority of “traditional” college students enrolled in public institutions of higher learning here at UNCP and across the state are figuring out that it may take more than the normal four years to actually be awarded a degree.

According to graduation rates pertaining to freshmen that entered an institution in 1999 and graduated in four years, UNCP has the lowest four-year graduation average at 18.7 percent in the 16 school UNC system. UNC Chapel Hill leads all of the other UNC-affiliated schools with a 70.5 percent four-year graduation rate, more than two times the 31.2 percent average for all 16 UNC schools combined. The NC School of the Arts has the second highest four-year graduation rate at 52.1 percent, UNC Wilmington has the third highest four-year graduation rate at 40.7 percent.

“The 16 UNC schools are compared in many different categories; however, our populations, missions, and many other factors make us as different as night and day,” said Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at UNCP Jackie Clark. “Our student body has many of the core elements of students who do not traditionally finish their degree in four years. They are: high percentage of commuters, high percentage of first-generation college students, a high percentage of students who work more than 20 hours per-week, a high percentage of non-traditional students who may be attending school part-time and work full-time, and an economically disadvantaged population (close to 70 percent of UNCP students receive some sort of financial aid).”