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From cuts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to new data showing stagnating college completion rates, here are the top-line figures from some of our biggest stories of the week.
By the numbers
$800,000
The proposed cut to University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s diversity, equity and inclusion budget as part of broader budget reductions to remedy a structural deficit. The plan would lay off three full-time-equivalent DEI staff members.
62.2%
The six-year completion rate for students who began college in fall 2017, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The number has largely held steady for the last three college cohorts, raising concerns about stagnating progress.
47%
The growth in tuition revenue at the University of Wisconsin at Madison from fall 2016 to fall 2019, following the flagship campus’s lift of an enrollment cap on out-of-state students, according to a new working paper. Officials used the revenue increase to fund financial aid increases for lower-income students, researchers found.
49%
The share of surveyed employers who say college graduates are very prepared for oral communication in the workforce, according to a new survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities. However, most employers agreed that graduates are ready for the workplace overall.
15.5%
The amount that persistence rates increased among one group of Southern New Hampshire University students after the college used pandemic relief funds to cover their day-to-day necessities, such as food and housing. Students who received grants were more likely to stay enrolled than those who didn’t, researchers found.
