Montana colleges plan report card to Legislature

BOZEMAN (AP) — Montana’s higher education system is writing a report card, not on its students, but on itself.

University System officials on Tuesday gave the Board of Regents a first look at the “accountability” report they plan to deliver to the 2015 Legislature later in January, when the Appropriations Education subcommittee tackles the higher education budget.

The report shows that Montana’s state colleges are making measurable progress on many fronts, mainly by graduating more students.

“We’re quite enthusiastic about the case we can make,” Clay Christian, commissioner of higher education, said during the regents’ telephone conference meeting. “The University System is delivering on its promises.”

Equally enthusiastic was Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who praised the University System for doing “incredible things.”

Bullock named the university projects he’s supporting this legislative session, including a tuition freeze for Montana college students, $28 million to renovate Romney Hall at Montana State University, and $15 million to support research by university scientists.

“If we really want the jobs of the future, we need to be working on that today,” Bullock said.

Christian declared that the partnership between the University System and governor was “as strong as it has ever been.”  

At the 2013 Legislature, lawmakers, the governor and university officials agreed to a new pilot program. It provided an additional $7.5 million to Montana’s University System that would be divided up between campuses according to their measurable performance.

Senate Joint Resolution 13 called for higher education to find ways to measure and improve graduation rates, degree production, transfer rates, time to graduation, remedial class enrollment and success, course completions and dropout rates.

“Albeit modest, we’re making progress on all of those fronts,” Christian said.

The number of undergraduate degrees and certificates awarded rose from 5,740 to 6,697 last year, an increase of nearly 1,000 students or 17 percent in the decade ending in 2014, according to Tyler Trevor, deputy commissioner for planning and analysis.

Bachelor’s degrees alone jumped by more than 300 to 5,032 last year.

Graduation rates are still below 50 percent, even when using a national standard measure of six years to graduate. But Montana’s graduation rates have improved from 45 percent a decade ago to 48 percent in recent years.

Regent Jeff Krauss of Bozeman expressed concern that the number graduating in four years, just 21 percent, “seems incredibly low.” Trevor replied that the No. 1 factor in graduation rates is how selective universities are, and elite schools like Harvard have graduation rates in the 90s. But he said Montana schools don’t deny entry to many students, so colleges here have a rougher time getting students to graduate.

The percent of freshmen required to take remedial math or writing classes declined slightly, from 36 to 33 percent from 2012 to 2013. Among Montana high school graduates, it’s around 28 percent.

The retention rate - or share of freshmen who return for their sophomore year instead of dropping out - also improved slightly. At Montana’s four-year colleges, retention increased from 74.6 percent to 76.7 percent between 2005 and 2013.

One strategy Montana universities are using to boost graduations is urging students to take more credits each semester. MSU President Waded Cruzado said MSU is promoting the “Freshmen 15” idea - reminding students that if they take 15 or more credits, they won’t pay any more tuition than for 12 credits.

MSU made posters to tell students that taking 15 credits can help them graduate faster and save $816 per semester on in-state tuition, plus room and board costs, thus cutting the cost of college by $6,560 for Montana students or $20,520 for out-of-state students.

The University of Montana offers a Four Bear contract, guaranteeing students will graduate in four years if they take several steps, such as creating a four-year graduation plan. UM President Royce Engstrom said it works well — in the past decade the Missoula campus has had to pay for only one student’s tuition beyond the fourth year under the Four Bear contract.