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 | Crossing the Finish Line: |
Watch video interviewLong revered for their dedication to equal opportunity and affordability, public universities play a crucial role in building our country's human capital. And yet--a sobering fact--less than 60 percent of the students entering four-year colleges in America today are graduating. Why is this happening and what can be done? Crossing the Finish Line, the most important book on higher education to appear since The Shape of the River, provides the most detailed exploration ever of the crisis of college completion at America's public universities. This groundbreaking book sheds light on such serious issues as dropout rates linked to race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Probing graduation rates at twenty-one flagship public universities and four statewide systems of public higher education, the authors focus on the progress of students in the entering class of 1999--from entry to graduation, transfer, or withdrawal. They examine the effects of parental education, family income, race and gender, high school grades, test scores, financial aid, and characteristics of universities attended (especially their selectivity). The conclusions are compelling: minority students and students from poor families have markedly lower graduation rates--and take longer to earn degrees--even when other variables are taken into account. Noting the strong performance of transfer students and the effects of financial constraints on student retention, the authors call for improved transfer and financial aid policies, and suggest ways of improving the sorting processes that match students to institutions. An outstanding combination of evidence and analysis, Crossing the Finish Line should be read by everyone who cares about the nation's higher education system. William G. Bowen is president emeritus of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Princeton University. Matthew M. Chingos is a PhD student in the Department of Government at Harvard University and research associate at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Michael S. McPherson is president of the Spencer Foundation and former president of Macalester College. "Identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis matters enormously, and [Crossing the Finish Line] tries to do precisely that. . . . For all the book's alarming statistics, its message is ultimately uplifting--or at least invigorating. . . . Crossing the Finish Line makes it clear that we can do better."--David Leonhardt, New York Times "The most comprehensive look yet possible at the determinants of graduation rates--and what might be done to improve them. Bowen and McPherson are economists and bring economists' sensibilities and methods to their subject. Much of the book uses regression analysis to assess the impact of various factors on college completion (e.g., socioeconomic status, financial aid, and institutional selectivity) after adjusting for other factors such as students' high-school grades and test scores. Individual chapters deftly summarize what is known about each topic and then often extend that knowledge substantially. . . . The book provides new and often surprising insights on other major determinants of college completion. The chapters on financial aid, in particular, are masterful. . . . Crossing the Finish Line exemplifies the best that social science research has to offer: rigorous empirical analysis brought to bear on a major public policy issue. Bowen, Chingos, and McPherson have provided an essential resource that both researchers and policymakers will consult for years to come."--Richard C. Atkinson and Saul Geiser, Science Magazine "The authors are emphatic that the United States cannot improve overall educational attainment unless there are significant changes in public higher education. . . . One of the major themes of the book is of the importance of disparities--and the need to be precise about them."--Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed.com Other Princeton books by William G. Bowen:
Another Princeton book by Michael S. McPherson: Subject Areas: | |||||||
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