Diminishing achievement gap between students one of many pride points for the university

By Vickie Lee-Her

Talk to your classmates at Metropolitan State University and you’ll find that many students balance an array of responsibilities outside of their campus life. Take a look at your classes and it’s easy to see that the student to teacher ratio is intimate, about 13:1. Take a look around campus and you’ll notice that 30 percent of undergraduates are students of color.

Recent regional and national statistics show that Metropolitan State University has a small and diminishing achievement gap between students of color and white students. This is a success everyone affiliated with the university can be proud of.

On April 15, Metropolitan State University President Sue Hammersmith made a special presentation to about 100 people, who are major University supporters, about the University and what she’s learned over her first nine months of term. President Hammersmith’s presentation featured her view on running a university that is always changing, special points of pride, Metropolitan State’s student-focused mission and focus on quality and innovation, the community commitment of the University and her plans for the future. Her presentation included the accessibility of Metropolitan State to underserved students in the Twin Cities area, including students of color.

“There are several ways in which measuring student achievement can be calculated,” says William Lowe, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs.

But all calculations point to the success that Metropolitan State has achieved - that students of color and white students are graduating at rates closer than ever before. Minnesota State Universities and Colleges (MnSCU) reports that for the 2006/2007 academic year, Metropolitan State University retained into the next academic year, 77 percent white students and 73.3 percent students of color. Metropolitan State is at the top of the game in comparison to other universities, which had significant gaps between these two groups.

Another measure to consider is one done by Measuring Up. Measuring Up 2006 is a national report card for higher education with the purpose of providing public and policy makers with information to evaluate and improve postsecondary education. The report, published every two years, looks at fall head count of undergraduate students versus degrees awards during that year per 100 students. The report shows the national average is 18/100 with the state of Minnesota leading with 20/100. Metropolitan State is above the national and state average with an astounding 22/100.

Using this methodology, Metropolitan State conducted its own calculation using data from the 2007/2008 academic school year. For students of which the university knows their ethnicity per 100 students, 17 Bachelor’s degrees were awarded to both students of color and white students. In comparison to previous years, this year’s rates are much closer than ever before.

“The fact is that 30 percent of undergraduate students are students of color,” says Vice President of University of Advancement Bob Heuermann, “Making us the most diverse student body of any public university in our five state region.”

Heuermann believes it’s the university’s student focus and commitment to the community that make it an attractive university for students. These two important factors motivate Metropolitan State to grow to fit students, the community and the state.

The university’s focus on the success of students is supported by several initiatives to ensure all students get the support they need:
• Programs such as TRIO, Upward Bound and Power of YOU encourage and support underrepresented students in the Twin Cities area to attend college or university.
• Upward Bound works to increase the rate which students complete high school and enroll in and graduate from a college or university.
• Power of YOU is a program that makes the first two years of college available tuition free for resident graduates from public, charter or alternative high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
• Metropolitan State has about 400 articulation agreements with colleges around the Twin Cities area so students can transfer credits from other institutions and can easily complete their degrees at Metropolitan State. (95 percent of students come in with transfer credits.)
• The university employs Cultural Coordinators who work with student groups and the university overall. A part of their responsibility includes student retention.
• The Center for Academic Excellence is an on-campus help desk for students in the areas of studying and overall student success.
• Excellent academic advisors support students in their academic choices and in many ways are personal coaches for students.
• The university is committed to maintaining small and personal learning environments.
• Small class sizes
• Training for faculty to improve and maintain exceptional teaching skills
• Individualized attention
• The university is the most affordable 4-year degree university in Minnesota with quality to back up the low cost.

With all of these initiatives and support for students, it’s no wonder that Metropolitan State University is the leading the way to reducing the retention rates of students of color versus white students in the state and region. To learn more about the statistics, visit http://www.mnscu.edu or http://measuringup.highereducation.org.