Ashley Trigoso
ENC 1102
It is the unfortunate truth that the United States has the highest college dropout rate in the industrialized world (Carlozo). However, the majority of college students are fairly uncertain about the career path they wish to follow after they graduate, or even whether or not a job will be available to them upon their entrance to the work force. This may leave them to wonder whether or not they in fact need to earn a college degree. Many believe they can succeed in the real world with a simple innovative idea.
It is the sad reality that if success were that simple, everyone would be millionaires. The fact remains that students usually are not well informed as to the qualifications that some professions require, resulting in them earning the wrong degree or even no degree at all. Whether the reason be the cost of education, students not being up to the challenge that the college workload presents, or the financial bearing that comes with being a full time student, it is apparent that higher education is not as important to a number of students as it once was.
Throughout the email MDC President Dr. Padron sent to faculty he brings up a number of issues that relate to the college. He jumps right in by mentioning MDC3, something one would assume is a typo of some sort if they did not already know about this program or did not try to inform themselves on this matter. Dr. Padron then proceeds to bring to light the severity of the students who graduate from the College. “Our current graduation rate is 39% for college-ready students and only 18% for underprepared students, and while our efforts stand well above the state and national norms, no one at MDC would ever say this is good enough. Far from it.” (Padron). After reading the email in its entirety, one could point out the underlying messages and almost threatening innuendos found across his message; either step up and make these numbers increase dramatically or get prepared “to allow imposition of standards and practice from outside the College” (Padron). Dr. Padron ends his message to faculty by stating “The promise of MDC has never been greater and each of you has an open invitation to do what we came here to do – to make a difference” which one could conclude as him telling his readers that this needs to be done, or there will be consequences.
Just as Dr. Padron stated in his email it is apparent that the number of students who successfully complete college is decreasing. With this being said it is projected that Florida is failing to produce enough college graduates to meet the projected job market demand needed by 2018 (O’Connor). In his article “Florida Not Producing Enough College Graduates To Meet Job Market Demand” John O’Connor explains to his readers that Florida ranks 31st throughout the nation for the percent of adults who have obtained a college degree. Although the number of Florida residents with a degree is about 36.5, the nation average is about 38.3, and even though these numbers are very close surely we can affirm that these numbers are far too small and they must increase in order for more people to have the opportunity to qualify for jobs. Another staggering statistic one could take from this article is that it is projected that “59 percent of jobs will require a college degree by 2018, but Florida will fall far short of that mark at its current pace” (O’Connor). With this being said one could deduce that without an increase in graduation rates soon, Florida residents will struggle when it comes to finding work in the near future.
It comes as no surprise that students enrolled in college are tending to drop out before they receive their degree, and that is if they even decide to attend college in the first place. In Lou Carlozo’s article “Why College Students Stop Short of a Degree” the author brings to light the numerous reasons as to why students are dropping out of college or deciding to bypass higher education all together. Carlozo mentions a study done by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development which shares with us that “the United States finished last (46 percent) for the percentage of students who completed college once they started it” (Carlozo). When compared to the number of students who successfully complete college in Japan (89 percent) it is very noticeable that there is definitely something wrong. Michael Nelson from Georgia dropped out of college during his Freshman year, saying that he knew it was not going to take him where he wanted to go in life. Some would say he made the right decision, because now he is earning $85,000 a year (Carlozo). Nelson disclosed that many of his friends are finishing school with $50,000 in debt and do not know how they will survive because they do not have a job secured. Although the article does state that some very powerful and wealthy men are college dropouts it is obvious that this happy ending is not one most dropouts come to meet, and as time and time again it has been shown that without a college degree success in nearly any field of work is extraordinarily difficult and sometimes even impossible.
A predominant reason why students are dropping out of school is because of the cost of education. “Many students approach the dropout decision as a simple cost-benefit analysis. They ask themselves whether leaving will put them financially ahead of where they'll be after amassing four years of student loan debt in a lukewarm job market (Carlozo). Students are tending to halt their education so they could support their family, work and earn money, or because they simply could not afford college. Aside from the cost of eduction, more and more students are taking into account the debt they would finish school with when contemplating pursuing a higher education. Carlozo informs his readers that as of 2010 the student loan debt exceeded the consumer credit card debt for the first time in history. This is a scary fact considering how much people hear about the credit card debt in America and since student loans cannot be discharged when one files for bankruptcy, more students are looking beyond their years in college when figuring out if it is the right choice for them. And although it is evident that college graduates earn a considerably larger amount that those with only a high school education, the fear of being in debt drives some to take their chances in regards to finding a job.
However, regardless of how low the graduation rate seems to be, Dr. Padron’s letter does not address certain key aspects pertinent to the calculation of the graduation rate. The article, “Why Graduation Rates Matter- And Why They Don’t”, by Cook and Hartle states that, “calculating and interpreting graduation rates is far more complex and analytically challenging than it should be. As a result, the numbers themselves may, despite their apparent simplicity, provide a seriously misleading picture of how well an institution is doing”. Graduation rates are calculated by using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and this calculation excludes those who begin college as part time students, who enroll mid-year, and those who transfer from one institution to another. (Hartle/Cook). As the authors also state, to the surprise of many, IPEDS calculated graduation rates have been limited to students “who complete a degree within six years at a four-year institution or in three years at a two-year school”. And to the surprise of many, Hartle and Cook state:
“To put this in more straightforward terms, consider President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. One of the few things these three individuals have in common is that all are, according to the federal definition, college dropouts.”
Taking into account all these factors, it is painfully evident that the current graduation rates of MDC could be very far off from its true numbers. Although Dr. Padron’s email to faculty does not disclose how these graduation rates are being calculated it can be assumed that a number of negative factors are being taken into account, resulting in much lower rates.
Upon interviewing two students from Miami Dade College, it quickly became apparent that the main reason that college students were considering dropping out was financial difficulty. Maria Beddoe remarked that her main obstacle in pursuing her degree was having to deal with financial aid. She also points out that her laziness and lack of motivation in her search for a good university led her to MDC. The other interviewee, Daniela Dobrowolski stated that she has to pay out-of-pocket for her college education, a barrier that surely adds yet another level of stress to what is already a debilitating situation.
It is noteworthy that both interviewees seemed to blame, at least in part, their academic difficulties on their previous educational careers in the Miami-Dade Public School System. It can be said that this correlates to Maria’s mention of procrastination-induced failure and Daniela’s having to have dropped out of an introductory chemistry class, speaking volumes about the quality of education and degree of dedication held by the students produced by Miami-Dade Public Schools.
The graduation rate of Miami Dade College leaves much to be desired according to Dr. Eduardo Padron’s letter to the faculty. However, the graduation rate is affected negatively by the overly complex system of calculation and by discouraged students who believe that success is attainable without a college degree. Students who believe the cost of staying in school exceeds the benefits of getting a degree will more often than not drop out of school, pursuing their dreams without a formal college education. This endeavor may seem futile to administrators such as Padron, but the success several famous of non-graduates seems to say otherwise for the necessity of a college degree.
Works Cited
Beddoe, Maria. "Maria's Interview." Personal interview. 22 May 2012.Cook, Bryan, and Terry W. Hartle. "Why GRADUATION RATES Matter--And Why They Don't." Presidency 14.2 (2011): 32-35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 June 2012.
Dobrowolski, Daniela. "Daniela's Interview." Personal interview. 22 May 2012.
O'Connor, John. "Florida Not Producing Enough College Graduates To Meet Job Market Demand." StateImpact. Local Public Media and NPR, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/03/28/florida-not-producing-enough- college-graduates-to-meet-job-market-demand/>.
Padron, Eduardo. "To Make a Difference." 7 May 2012. E-mail.
"Why college students stop short of a degree." Reuters. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012.
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