University of Minnesota announces improved graduation rates Contacts: Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (612) 625-8510 |
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 1/16/2007 ) -- Graduation rates at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities continue to increase, showing consistent, steady improvement in recent years, University of Minnesota officials announced Tuesday. In 2006, the four-year graduation rate for the Twin Cities campus was 40.7 percent, the five-year graduation rate 57.9 percent and the six-year graduation rate was 60.8 percent. The most significant increase was in the four-year rate, which increased more than 8 percent - from 32.6 percent in 2004 to 40.7 percent in 2006. "We're making steady progress on our goals to increase graduation rates, which is good news for our students and the university," said university Provost Thomas Sullivan. "This is an institution that is driven to discover by attracting the best and brightest students, providing them with an outstanding education and helping them graduate in a timely manner." The university announced ambitious new graduation rate goals for all campuses of the university in October 2006. For the Twin Cities campus, the goal is a four-year graduation rate of 60 percent, five-year rate of 75 percent and a six-year rate of 80 percent. "Enabling more students to graduate in a more timely manner is a good thing for the entire state; it makes the cost of higher education for the student less expensive and it frees up higher education capacity for other undergraduate students," Sullivan said. "As the university advances towards its goal of becoming one of the top three public research universities in the world, we remain committed to improving all areas, especially our graduation rates." ---------- | 
