34 percent drop out of USU after first year, compared with 26 percent nationally
As the class of 2001 looks toward graduation in May, about 34 percent of freshmen at Utah State University may be taking a different road.
In fact, only 66 percent of USU students beginning their first semester of school will actually finish the year out, according to John DeVilbiss, director of USU Media Relations and Marketing.
And, according to a six-year university study, even fewer students will actually graduate.
Beginning in 1994, USU tracked the full-time freshmen enrolled that fall through their college careers to see how many of those students would actually graduate. After six years, 42.5 percent had graduated from USU, DeVilbiss said.
Nationally, the average dropout rate for four-year universities is 26 percent, according to U.S. News and World Report’s university comparison. Regionally, the University of Utah pulls in a 28 percent dropout rate, Weber State University has a 38 percent dropout rate, Southern Utah University sits at about 51 percent and Brigham Young University, a private institution, has an 11 percent rate.
“When you compare us nationally, we’re a bit of an anomaly,” DeVilbiss said.
The numbers are due mostly to so many students quitting to serve missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he said. He said students often come to USU for a semester before they leave for their two-year missions.
“We know that about 65 percent of male freshmen will stop to serve a mission,” said Vice President for Student Services Patricia Terrell.
However, it’s difficult to distinguish between students who drop out of school to go on missions and students who drop out for other reasons.
John Ringle, associate director of USU Housing and Food Services, said his office sees students leaving on-campus housing for varied reasons like homesickness, to be closer to a boyfriend or girlfriend, to get married or for other social reasons. This year, 396 students left on-campus housing for one reason or another after Fall Semester. At least 199 of those were freshmen, he said.
In the spring of 1999, USU conducted a pilot project asking freshmen to fill out a survey either online or at the Registrar’s Office, Terrell said. The results showed the primary reason for dropping out was to go on an LDS mission. The second was for financial reasons. Fewer than 5 percent said they were dropping out because they didn’t like USU, she said.
Terrell said another factor is that many students are not prepared for the rigors of university study.
As part of her job, Terrell recruits extensively for USU. She said it’s important students know what they’re getting into before they come to USU.
“We can’t say, ‘Come to Logan and enjoy the benefits of a large metropolis,'” she said.
It’s important students realize what they’ll get when they come to this area, she said.
Some people wouldn’t be happy in Logan with nothing much to do on the weekends, compared to Salt Lake City or Ogden, she said. This could affect whether or not they stay at USU.
The university is looking to combat these problems by staying in touch with students and encouraging them to come back to USU after their missions, increasing the number of grants and scholarships available to students and being up front and direct when recruiting students, Terrell said.
One option the university is looking at for retaining students is offering credit for community service. The credit would probably count as general studies credit and would be available for those who serve a mission for the LDS Church, or any other church, as well as those who serve in the Peace Corps, in the military, etc. Students would be asked to explore the effects of their service both on the people they served and on themselves, Terrell said.