Posted on Feb 28, 2005

Murray State University will host a study team visit from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8-9. Murray was selected late last year as one of only 12 universities in a group of more than 400 campuses by AASCU, The Education Trust and the National Association of University System Heads to be studied this spring by a panel of national experts to learn more about graduation rate success. It was stated that these 12 campuses were selected as “study campuses” for one of two reasons — their very high graduation rates compared to other reporting institutions in the same category, or institutions with graduation rates that have improved significantly since 1996. In MSU’s case, both of these requirements apply. The average six-year graduation rate for all AASCU universities is 37 percent, while MSU’s graduation rate exceeds 56 percent. The core of the study will consist of 12 “study teams” visiting the study campuses. It is anticipated that the team members will identify leadership ideas and strategies from these campus visits, including campus policies and practices that contribute to higher-than-predicted graduation rates. According to AASCU’s George Mehaffy, vice president for academic leadership and change, “We also want to demonstrate to the Congress, state legislatures and others that we are taking this issue very seriously. In short, we want to help campuses manage, rather than just react to, the issue of graduation rates.” Other universities included with Murray State in the study will be Clemson University, California State University-Stanislaus, Truman State University, The University of Northern Iowa, the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Northwest Missouri State University, Montclair State University, Elizabeth City State University, Louisiana Tech University, CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Virginia State University. According to Murray State President F. King Alexander, who was recently invited as a featured speaker to address this growing national issue at the AASCU national conference in Charleston, S.C., “This study should yield results that will be beneficial for all public universities and government officials. We are honored to be one of the universities selected as a ‘best practice’ institution, but more importantly, we hope to learn a great deal from the study teams and other universities about comparative practices that will benefit our students at MSU.” Murray State is an excellent study campus for the project due to its ever-increasing enrollment and graduation numbers. The university has posted record enrollment numbers for the past nine years and has increased its graduation percentage over the past six years. Murray’s graduation rate, based on 2002-03 figures, beats the national six-year average by four percentage points and the Kentucky public universities average by 12 percentage points. AASCU is a higher education association with a membership comprised of more than 425 colleges, universities and systems of public higher education throughout the United States and its territories.