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From: Bob LeChevalier on 4 May 2008 13:53
robertcinqmars(a)comcast.net wrote:
>According to statistics available from the US Department of Education,
>approximately 43% of bachelors degree seeking college students DON'T
>graduate after SIX years of trying.

Fallacious statement.

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_318.asp
Of students who started a bachelor's program in 1995, 58% had received
a Bachelor's degree by 2001, 6 years later. Most of the rest (42%,
not 43%, though perhaps a later set of data had changed by 1%) were
NOT "after 6 years of trying". 6.7% had chosen to take a certificate
or an associates degree. They probably had not been enrolled for a
few years. Thus they hadn't been trying for 6 years.

20.5% were not enrolled and were not seeking a degree. Some probably
flunked out; others had family or financial reasons; most probably
decided that they didn't really want to go to college - a lot of kids
start college because they are expected to, not because they really
want more education.

Only 14.4% had no degree and were still enrolled. A significant
percentage of these were part time students, often working full time,
while taking a couple of courses at a time. Since a quarter of all
students who attend college, attend part time, it is logical that a
good chunk of them would not have gotten their degree even "after 6
years of trying". They don't need your book of advice.

A number of them started out seeking a certificate and not a
bachelor's degree but are still counted in the 42% because they were
at a 4 year college.

lojbab
Bob LeChevalier - artificial linguist; genealogist
lojbab(a)lojban.org Lojban language www.lojban.org
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