The Million Graduates

            McKinsey Quarterly thinks that the United States needs more graduates, one million graduates each year by 2020 for better economy. That means increasing the total graduates by 40%.  To accomplish this goal, for the next ten years, all universities should increase the number of its graduates by 3.5%. However, there are two reasons make it hard mission, First of all, this idea may coast more than $52 billion a year. States that have financial problems have lowered spending on higher education. Secondly, universities need to enroll more than 3.5% because only 40% of all students graduate every year.

            To achieve the goal with spending less, colleges should attract more students and keep a tight lid on coasts without lowering the education qualities or granting access to the best students. Colleges can be productive by raising graduation rates as controlling costs.

            McKinsey examined the education and management practices of eight collages that its productive levels up to 60% more than the average, measured by the coast per degree, to understand what makes them more productive. The colleges are a mix of private and public institutions. Also, they give degrees after two or four years.

            The eight colleges have five strategies help to achieve high productivity: three strategies that keep costs under control and two that increase the number of students completing their degrees.

1.      Helping students to graduate.

2.      Reducing unproductive credits.

3.      Redesigning instruction.

4.      Improving efficiency in core support and services. 
5.      Running noncore services and other operations efficiently and selectively.

First strategy is helping students to graduate. The eight institutions build up their systems to help as many students as possible achieve degrees. IndianaWesleyan University’s College of Adult and professional studies (IWU-CAPS) , achieve a six-years graduation rate of 65%  —19 percentage points above its peer average— by encouraging students support each other. Similarly, In Florida, Valencia communitycollege’s three-year graduation rate is 35% -- 15 % points above that of peer institutions-- because the collage provides support and tools for planning the students’ path to graduation and redesigned services to improve the quality.

      The second strategy is reducing the unnecessary credits. There is 10% of all credits are excess of the number of required to graduate. Even though these credits are good for students, they add cost to a degree. For example, Southern New Hampshire University allows students to graduate with no more than 150 credits.

 

      Third one is about how using new technology can lower the coasts and raise the qualities. In Arizona, Rio Salado college substitutes part-time for full-time faculty. Also, some institutions developed new material called “master courses” instead of asking professors to create their own materials. The technology is not the only way to cut teaching coasts. Brigham Young University- Idaho adds a third (full spring) semester) to the calendar. As a result, the coasts of teaching were cut by 32% per student.

The fourth strategy is how reduce the cost of core support and services. Idaho, Rio Salado, and DeVry University succeeded reducing costs in this area by converting paper-based systems to electronic ones, cross-training to eliminate staff downtime, and using self-service online portals to administer financial aid. Also, in the fifth strategy, these universities reduced the costs by paying closer attention to mandatory operations while improving efficiency across all noncore services.

To get the extra million graduates necessitates lowering the nation’s average cost per degree by 23 percent, and this assumes rising the total tuition revenues in line with student numbers but not rising in tuition fees.

Finally, the impact of the five strategies shows that these strategies play a useful role in achieving the goal. Therefore, institutions can raise their productivities if they apply these five important strategies. Both State and federal governments should add the productivity in their higher education’s plans through the data that is provided via institutions.