UNITED STATES

US: Public blames graduation rates on students

The public pins most of the blame for poor college graduation rates on students and their parents and gives a pass to colleges, government officials and others, a new Associated Press-Stanford University poll shows, reports Associated Press.

All sectors of American higher education received high marks for quality. When asked where the blame lies for graduation rates at public four-year colleges, seven in 10 people said students shouldered either a great deal or a lot of it, and 45% felt that way about parents.

The belief that students are most at fault for graduation rates is a troubling sign for reformers who have elevated college completion to the forefront of higher education policy debates and pushed colleges to fix the problem, said Michael Kirst, professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford.
Full report on the Association Press site