Everyone loves a teacher’s pet! The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that one-third of four-year colleges posted declines in graduation rates, but notes that UVA sits at the head of the class with the highest graduation rate in the country. (Daniel de Vise notes for the Washington Post that median graduation rates jumped two points in the same time span examined by the Chronicle.) Since 2003, UVA’s graduation rate has averaged between 92 and 93 percent.
The Chronicle examined the percentage of first-time students who enroll in the fall and finish degrees within six years, and data is current through 2008. If you’d like to take a closer look at UVA’s data, however, the Office of Institutional Assessment and Studies posts graduation rates for those students who enrolled in the fall of 2004. UVA reliably places near the top of public universities ranked according to graduation rate, and posts one of the highest graduation rates of African-American students in the country—a fact that UVA Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge mentioned during his recent UVA Neighborhood Advisory meeting.