Snow College is Growing

The third-week enrollment numbers for all colleges and universities were released today. There are no surprises in the two schools with the most growth. They are Utah Valley University (3.65%) and Dixie State College (4.52%)—soon also to become a University. These two schools are situated in growing counties and have seen significant change in their missions. UVU was a two-year college until 1993; Dixie was a two-year college until 2000. UVU recently became a university and both have been adding bachelor’s degrees at a fairly good pace.

Snow College is listed third behind UVU and Dixie for growth in full-time equivalent students (2.62%) followed by Utah State University (2.48%), the University of Utah (2.23%), and Weber State University (0.88%). Southern Utah University (-3.74%) and Salt Lake Community College (-4.29%) saw enrollment dips.

There are many factors that contribute to the enrollment changes for the various institutions. But it is worth pausing to note that Snow College, situated in the most remote and rural setting, offering no more than two-year degrees, is still a strong draw for students right out of high school. We see continual growth in students coming from across rural Utah, and also from the urban Wasatch Front.

It is typical during downturns in the economy for students to stay home, keep their jobs, and attend a college or university within driving distance of home. Snow College continues to buck this trend. It is primarily a residential college. 90% of our students make a decision to temporarily relocate to attend. The only other non-metropolitan institution in Utah is Southern Utah University, which dropped in enrollments this year.

Why do students continue to choose Snow College over more convenient colleges and universities? It is because of the wonderful opportunities at Snow College. It is because students are successful in reaching their academic goals here. I have mentioned data that support this claim in prior posts and I will continue to publish facts that tell the Snow College story.

Snow College is a Top 10 College

The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence was announced at the first White House Community College Summit last October. Following October a national committee analyzed publicly available data on student outcomes at all two-year colleges in America (there are 1,200 of us). The committee considered three criteria: (1) student performance in retention, graduation and transfers; (2) improvement of completion performance over time; and (3) equity for disadvantaged students.

The committee recently announced that Snow College is among the top ten percent of all two-year colleges in America. We are the only College in Utah and one of only a few in the Intermountain West found in the top ranks. This honor is a recognition for which we did not apply. I just woke up one morning and found an email in my inbox with congratulations! Very fun.

This recognition for being in the top 10 percent is acknowledgment that our faculty and staff are really doing a great job. I have been telling people Snow College is one of the best two-year colleges in the West. Now I have proof.

Snow College is First In Graduation Rates

Snow College is first in graduation rates among its comparable colleges in the nation. Not exactly a new revelation, of course. It has been long understood that our excellent faculty and staff help Snow College students succeed. But what is impressive is how much more successful Snow College is over its peers nationwide. Snow College’s four-year graduation rate is 58% compared to its next closest peer, Centralia College (Washington State), with a graduation rate of 36%. The average rate among all its peers is 23.75%. Snow College’s rate is two and a half times higher than average and 22 points above the next closest. Seriously—wow!

The gap is larger for the two-year graduation rate where Snow College students succeed at a rate of 39%, which is more than three times the average rate among all its peers. The average is 12.25%.

Two-year associate and community colleges, as a general rule, have a lower graduation rate than universities. There are many reasons for this including two obvious ones. First, Two-year colleges admit students for vocational programs who have no interest in working toward graduation. These students are looking for a job and want to acquire the skills necessary to get into the workplace as quickly as possible. Secondly, students who are not admitted to a university, because they didn’t apply on time or are not yet academically qualified, go to two-years colleges. Snow College has no admission requirements. We take all comers, regardless of how well prepared they are—and then our faculty and staff lead them to success at exceptional rates. Having said all this—most students who attend Snow College are very prepared for college study. They have many choices in universities to attend. But they choose Snow College for various reasons, including the quality education and opportunities they find here.

Why do I point out the fact that two-year colleges have a lower graduation rate than universities? Is it to explain why our graduation rate is lower than most universities in Utah? Well, not exactly. It is to set up the next set of data and further drive home my point of how successful Snow College is in leading students to graduation.

Drum roll please . . .

Snow College is not only the leader in graduation rates among its two-year peers—it is the leader among all regional universities in Utah. Snow College’s graduation rate is four points higher than Southern Utah University, six points higher than Weber State University, 15 points higher than Dixie State College, and 26 points higher than Utah Valley University. Only the research universities in Utah have a higher rate than Snow College. University of Utah and Utah State University’s rates are only nine points higher than Snow College’s rate.

But before I finish, I need to add one additional point of comparision with the universities. It is within the mission of Snow College to help students working toward a bachelor’s degree to transfer to a four-year school. Universities do not generally have transfer within their mission. Students who want a bachelor’s degree either go directly to a university, which offers the degree, or to a two-year college with the intention of transferring to a university after their time at the college. Many students come to Snow College having earned a semester or more of college credit while in high school. They have a great experience at Snow College and then after a year are prepared to transfer to a university. These students don’t graduate from the College. But they are successes. If we add the graduation rate and the transfer rate prior to graduation Snow College’s completion rate is 78.6%. And then if I add the vocational students, who come only for a certificate or a few classes, well more than 80% of all students who come to Snow College complete their academic goals.

Snow College is the most successful institution in Utah, and nationally among its peers, in leading students to graduation.

Of course, graduation rate is only one measure of success. There are many others, and I will address them all in future posts.

(The source for this post is 2010 data from the IPEDS Data Center and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.)