A Long Road to Graduation at Cal State

Randall Johns is a 26-year-old father. He works, sometimes two jobs and more than 50 hours a week. He’s African American. And he’s been pursuing an undergraduate degree, paying his own tuition, since 1992.

In many ways, he’s a typical Cal State Northridge student.

Like Johns, as many as 60% of the freshmen who enrolled in a Cal State University campus in 1992 have not yet graduated, recent state figures show, and the outlook is even bleaker at the four campuses in Los Angeles County: Northridge, Long Beach, Dominguez Hills and Los Angeles. Largely black and Latino in makeup, these are some of the most diverse campuses in the nation and often serve as a ladder to the middle class.

But blacks attending Cal State campuses statewide usually take twice as long to complete their degrees, and graduate at half the rate of their white classmates. Latinos fare better than blacks but still fall well below whites.

The more time that students spend in college, the longer they delay their earning power and the more likely they are to drop out, experts say.

The national graduation rate within six years of enrollment is 54%. But for large, urban institutions nationwide, the rate is 38%. By comparison, the combined rate at the four Cal State campuses in Los Angeles County is 30%. Northridge’s is the worst at 28%.

The situation could worsen in five years, when an estimated 455,000 children of baby boomers are expected to flood the state’s colleges and universities. Cal State currently serves about 360,000 students.

Already, Cal State is streamlining remediation programs and reevaluating academic and financial aid counseling to hasten student progress. Campuses are hiring additional teachers and offering more courses to accommodate students’ schedules.

Experts blame Cal State’s low graduation rates on two factors: time and money. Although there has never been more financial aid available, the federal emphasis has shifted from grants--which students do not have to repay--to loans. Many lower-income students who cannot afford rising tuition and fees are working longer hours to avoid debilitating debts. Students of color are the most likely to juggle jobs and school, slowing their course work and often delaying graduation for years.

Cal State officials acknowledge problems but say inequities in pre-college schooling and income tilt the academic playing field toward middle-class whites. Besides, even a prolonged college education is better than none, they say.

“Our graduation rates reflect the student profile we have,” Cal State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed said. “They’re not the traditional 19- or 20-year-old students, whose parents are paying their fees.”

Majority of Students Work Part Time

The average Cal State undergraduate is a 24-year-old part-time worker. One-third work more than 30 hours a week. Half are self-supporting and a quarter support dependents. English often is not their first language. They are likely to come from poor families and inadequate high schools. Many are first-generation college students.

“You have to go a little further beyond six-year graduation rates to capture all our graduates,” Reed said. “OK, so we’re talking eight or nine years to complete a baccalaureate--it doesn’t alarm me, because I know where they started.”

Randall Johns said his financial aid fell short in his first two years and he cut back his courses to work more. He also married and became a father. After several breaks, Johns has returned to school part time while working full time.

“It’s hard,” he said during a study break at the campus library. “You want to finish as soon as possible, but you have to pay bills just to live.”

Graduation rates are among several key indicators of successful institutions and are closely monitored by policy leaders. They are based on a six-year period and show how many students obtain a degree from the campus where they originally enrolled.

At CSU schools, graduation rates vary from campus to campus. At the relatively affluent and homogeneous Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the graduation rate is 59%. But those rates dip sharply in Los Angeles County, with Northridge at 28%, Long Beach at 33%, Dominguez Hills at 32% and Cal State L.A. at 29%.

Graduation rates for minorities at those campuses are more dismal. The graduation rate for black students at Dominguez Hills is 23%. At Northridge and Long Beach, it is 17% and at Cal State L.A., 15%.

“I wouldn’t be proud of those numbers--no one would,” said Daryl Smith, an education professor at Claremont Graduate College, adding that graduation rates alone can be misleading. “Our data is in some sense painting the worst picture possible, when in reality they might not be so bad.”

Transfer Students Are Not Tracked

The majority of Cal State undergraduates are transfer students who, having done course work elsewhere, generally take less time to graduate.

Also, Cal State does not track the success of 30% of its 1992 freshmen who transferred to other schools within six years, most switching to less-expensive two-year community colleges.

“I couldn’t tell you exactly how many [students who transfer from their original campuses] really graduated--we can just guess,” said Charles Ratliff, deputy director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

The commission will begin tracking transfer students statewide for the first time next fall.

Regardless of the gaps in the data, most educators agree that Cal State’s graduation rates must improve and money is the main obstacle.

“I wanted to go straight through, but I kept running out of money,” said Reginald Greene, 33, a black student at Cal State L.A. “It’s hard to concentrate on schoolwork when you can’t pay the rent.”

When Greene isn’t working 40 hours a week at United Parcel Service, he takes business administration classes--one at a time. Greene started as a full-time student, but now he’s strictly part time. He has attended college since 1987 and at his current pace, he’ll graduate in another six years. Greene, who hopes to run a nonprofit organization, would be the first college graduate in his family.

“This is part of my parents’ dream also,” he said, adding that his parents have not been able to help him financially. “The only thing I need is time to study.”

Loans Mounting as Grants Diminish

Although tuition has remained level for the last four years, overall, Cal State’s annual tuition rose 74%--from $1,120 to $1,947--between 1990 and 1997.

In 1990, the average Cal State student received $200 more in grants than loans. Now, loans typically top grants by $900.

“We know that students who receive large grants are more likely to complete than those who receive loans,” said Terry Hartle, vice president of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C.

But federal loans are more popular with legislators.

“It’s cheaper to feed people macaroni than steak,” Hartle said.

Rep. Howard P. McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) led a move to raise the maximum Pell Grant award $75 to $3,300 per student this year. He also has urged Congress, unsuccessfully, to nearly double the maximum grant amount.

“We realize [grants] are greatly underfunded,” he said.

Tonius Louie, 34, took six years to get her bachelor’s degree in deaf studies from Cal State Northridge, and she went on to earn a master’s in psychology. Now, she’s $70,000 in the hole.

“I really wanted to get some grants,” said Louie, who supported herself through school. “But it was much easier to get loans.”

Minority Students Less Apt to Get Aid

Studies show that minorities, especially blacks, are less likely to receive financial support from their families. Latinos are least likely to apply for financial aid in the first place, according to a recent report by the American Council on Education.

“It is particularly daunting for poorer students to look at a debt that equals or surpasses your family’s yearly income--that’s very scary for many students,” said Margaret Miller, president of the American Assn. for Higher Education. “They can’t imagine themselves making that kind of money.”

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Graduation Rates at Local Cal State Campuses

How 1992 full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates fared through the 1997-’98 academic year:

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Source: California State University; Ed Fund