SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

The nasty secret of university drop-outs

The latest additon to our lending library is Campus Confidential: 100 startling things you don't know about Canadian universities by Ken. S. Coates and Bill Morrison. Though ostensibly written for students, the book contains a great deal of information that will surprise many parents, teachers, taxpayers, and even professors. Canadian universities have undergone a lot of changes over the last 25 years. Here are a few little-known facts: a university degree is no longer a golden ticket to landing a job; the university one attends matters very little; university administrations' top priority is filling spaces; and cheating is rampant on modern campuses. The excerpt (pp. 61-63) reveals the shocking extent of academic failure.

"There's a nasty secret that rarely surfaces in public discussions about universities. Many students - at some places perhaps nearly half of all those who enter - do not graduate. Across the country, tens of thousands of students each year leave campuses, some to transfer to other educational institutions, others for jobs. But the vast majority leave as academic failures.

"Think about that for a moment. Remember how much time and effort young Johnny devoted to picking a university, paying tuition and room and board, and launching his studies? Now, imagine how he feels when he fails three or four mid-term exams, struggles with essays and lab reports, crashes during final tests, and then gets the dreaded Dean's letter requiring an extended academic holidy, often in mid-year when his probation runs out. Contemplate the phone call: 'Hi, Mom. I got kicked out of school. Can I come home?'

So much is loaded into this experience. Forget the money; you can write that off as an unfortunate investment. remember that young people, coddled from birth, have little experience with failure. They have been told that prosperity and opportunity require a university degree. They know their future depends on it. And now they have been rejected by the institution that was the repository of their career ambitions. Failure in university is a life-limiting experience.

"Why is the failure rate so high? even the best schools, attracting only the top students. lose up to 10 per cent of their first-year students. Issues of maturity, too much beer, the discovery of sex, wrong program choices, laziness, homesickness, and money woes are part of the challenge.

"But the real culprit is the national conceit that all students who want to go to university should have the chance. University, according to this belief, is a right, like shelter and medical care. Other countries limit access to (publicly funded) universities to students who have demonstrated aptitude and motivation.

"No such elitism for Canada. even the top schools are comparatively accessible. Our national mantra about equality of opportunity is no better displayed than through the expensive university admission processes. Universities need money to survive. Students provide money. Therefore students are heartily welcomed, with inadequate concern about their ability to succeed.

"The current approach is wrong. Students who fail carry a heavy personal burden. Their parents are disappointed - with their child or the institution - as well as out of pocket. The cost to the government is considerable. And classes with large numbers of students ill suited for study can produce a very unhappy academic environment.

"There is enormous variation in academic success rates. Universities that attract mor students of lower academic achievement (below 75 per cent is a good cut-off, given today's grossly inflated high school grades) have lower graduation rates. The data on this crucial topic is collected but is rarely disseminated and does not form part of the maclean's ranking of universities - even though it may be the single most important measure of institutional effectiveness.

"Greater honesty is needed here. A dismally large portion of the students going to a Canadian university in any academic year will not graduate. If incoming students knew this secret, some of the weaker ones might find a better training option elsewhere. Others might be more motivated and might work harder, knowing how many actually do fail and are asked to leave. This dirty little secret needs to be aired."