Editor,
Did you know the overall graduation rate for UNM undergraduates, six years after enrollment, is only 44 percent? More than half of the undergraduates you see around campus will probably drop out.
A Sept. 8 New York Times article cited the University of New Mexico as an example of a “failure factory” because of its low graduation rates.
UNM’s Hispanic graduation rate is around 41 percent, and the national Hispanic graduation rate is around 48 percent, according to current federal data published by the U.S. Department of Education. These are measured as graduation rates six years after enrollment. This data indicates UNM is graduating Hispanics at a rate lower than the national rate, but some UNM academic officers would rather you didn’t know this.
In a Sept. 11 Albuquerque Journal op-ed, UNM Provost Suzanne Ortega wrote, “For many years now, Hispanic students have graduated from UNM at nearly twice the rate of Hispanics nationwide.”
When I questioned this statement, Vice Provost Wynn Goering told me that Ortega based her assertion on a study that tracked 25,000 Hispanic students who were in the ninth grade in 1988. In this out-of-date study, only 23 percent graduated.
I am concerned by the possible deleterious effect of Ortega’s statement. Since Ortega has not replied to my letters, I am taking the initiative to correct the public record.
The shocking numbers are the financial losses when students don’t graduate from UNM. Total tuition paid by UNM students in 2007-2008 was $87 million. Total grant aid received by undergraduate students was $61 million. Mark Schneider, an economist cited in the New York Times article, has developed an indicator of financial losses. UNM’s overall graduation rate is 44 percent. Following Schneider’s approach, I estimate an annual loss to UNM students in tuition of $31 million, and losses to state and federal government of $26 million. When students don’t graduate, not only are their up-front investments of tuition, loans and grant aid lost, their lifelong earnings are also significantly reduced.
Ortega’s op-ed was titled “Expect More Excellence From UNM Scholars.” Yes, I do expect excellence — from Ortega herself, who serves as UNM Provost and Executive Vice President. I expect current, accurate information about UNM’s performance, and a willingness to clarify misleading statements. I call on Ortega to publish a clarification in the Albuquerque Journal.
Vicki Johnson
UNM alumna
