Report: Michigan college grad rates above national average

Michigan's public universities are doing a good job of making sure students who enroll are graduating, even if the graduation comes at a different university, a new report shows.

The state's community colleges aren't performing as well when measured against the national average, the same report, compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, shows.

The report, issued today, tracked students who enrolled in college in the fall of 2008 and where they were at the end of the school year in 2014. Unlike other college completion reports, this one followed transfer students and looked at how they were doing, giving a clear picture of college completion, said NSCRC's Associate Director Afet Dundar.

Details for individual universities were not available.

Michigan is outperforming the national average at the four-year university level. According to the report, 70.4% of students who started in 2008 at a Michigan public university had graduated by 2014 and 13.87 % were still enrolled in school somewhere. Of those who started in 2008, 60.51% graduated from the university they started at, while 9.88% had graduated from a different school.

The national average for total completions is 62.85%, with 49.80% graduating from the university they started with 13.06% graduating from a different university and 14.44% still enrolled.

Micah Thomas, 22, of Ypsilanti, is among those who started at one university and then then headed elsewhere.

"I went to Western (Michigan University), but my freshmen year, my mom got sick and I got homesick," the current Eastern Michigan University senior said. He's on pace to graduate this spring.

"I liked Western, but Eastern is a better fit for me – for my whole life, not just the school stuff. I know a lot of people who have transferred to another school for all kinds of reasons."

The numbers aren't as good at the community college level.

In Michigan, 35.87% of those who started at a public community college had graduated six years later, 24.55% at the community college they started at. In Michigan, 14.01% had graduated from a four-year university six years after starting community college and 19.62% were still enrolled somewhere.

Across the nation, 39.13% of those who started at a public community college in 2008 had graduates, 26.14% from the community college they started at. Nationally, 16.18% had graduated from a four-year university and 17.93% were still in school somewhere.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj