Despite Graduating Just 1/3rd Of Its Two Year Degree Students, Williston State College Wants Four Year Degrees

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Written By:
Rob Port

Dec 20, 2011
12:47pm

A couple of weeks ago news broke that one of North Dakota’s 11 campuses, Williston State College, wants to begin offering four-year degree programs, further bloating what is an already bloated university system in the state.

WILLISTON, N.D. — Williston State College is seeking state permission to launch its first four-year degree program.

Vice President of Instruction Wanda Meyer says the bachelor of applied science degree in applied management would give people with training in a technical field such as welding or nursing the tools to become a manager in the field.

Meyer says even if the four-year program is approved, Williston State will remain a two-year school.

Meyer tells the Williston Herald (http://bit.ly/uy7iI0 ) that students are ready to enroll. The program still needs the approval of the state Board of Higher Education.

A reader emailed me about the news, saying that when he attended the institution they were having enough trouble getting students to finish their two-year programs. Wanting to verify that, I made an open records request to the folks at Williston State College asking about graduation rates. Here are the numbers I was provided by Jan Solem, Vice President for Student Services.

Cohort Year Graduation Rate
2004 36%
2005 30%
2006 38%
2007 35%
4-yr Total 35%

The graduation rates are based on the university tracking students for three years, or 150% of the normal time it takes to complete the program. The 2007 cohort would be kids who would, after three years, have graduated in 2010.

In looking at those numbers, they’re pretty dismal. Just over a third of the students at WSC are completing their two-year programs now. Why in the world would we want to see the university expand to four year programs?

So that they could see the institution’s graduation rates sink into the 20′s like the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University, supposedly the state’s “flagship” institutions?

This seems like another aspect of the higher education bubble. Institution growth for the sake of growth.