Wayne State University’s reputation as a national model of student success continues to grow. The university’s six-year graduation rate has improved again, it continues to close the gap in equity between students of color and student achievement, and a new report has recognized Wayne State as the best University of Michigan to help students achieve socio-economic growth.

WSU’s new six-year graduation rate is 55.8%, an increase of 3.9 percentage points from last year and an astonishing improvement of 115% over the past decade by compared to 26%.

The gains have been particularly large among black students. Black’s current graduation rate is 34.6% – a jump of 9.8 percentage points from a year ago and a stunning 355% improvement over the past decade from 7.6% .

To put these gains into context, in 2018, the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) awarded Wayne State its 2018 Diploma Project Completion Award for improving its graduation rate by 21 percentage points over seven years, or an average of about three percentages. points per year, which was the best in the country. Wayne State’s black graduation rate has increased by nearly 10 percentage points since last year alone. Improvements were also made among Latinx, first-generation and low-income students at Wayne State.

“These advancements are the result of determination, innovation and passionate commitment, campus-wide, on the part of our faculty, staff, campus leaders and the students themselves.” said Monica Brockmeyer, senior associate director for student success. “While we are proud of our progress, we know we cannot rest – especially in light of the new challenges arising from the global pandemic and other societal adversities.

“And we won’t rest until every Wayne State student has the opportunity to learn, thrive in college, graduate on time, and enjoy the benefits of a degree. academic throughout his life. “

Despite national reports that the educational gaps in access, achievement and outcomes that existed before the pandemic are widening for under-represented students, Wayne State also continues to make progress toward his goal of closing its equity gap. in student success.

Nationally, in 2019, black undergraduates were 24 percentage points less likely to graduate within six years than white students. To address this problem, the APLU has launched a major initiative, Powered by Publics, to increase student success and achieve parity in graduation rates by race / ethnicity. Due to Wayne State’s reputation for innovation on this topic, he was chosen to lead the urban cluster of 11 institutions.

Participating universities have been asked to pledge to meet the ambitious goal of increasing black graduation rates by 2.7 percentage points per year. Then, in 2020, to reduce the time it takes to achieve equity in graduation rates, Wayne State voluntarily committed to doubling that target to achieve an annual improvement of 4.6 percentage points.

“It’s very difficult to get things done on underrepresented graduation rates, so asking universities to improve by almost 3 percentage points per year is really a lofty goal,” said WSU president , Mr. Roy Wilson. “So for Wayne State it’s remarkable to improve his black graduation rate by almost 10 percentage points in a single year. I am extremely proud of our staff who took this as a personal challenge and put a lot of effort into it. “

Wayne State’s target rate of increase is expected to lead to parity for black college students by 2030, five years ahead of the APLU’s ambitious goal.

All of these advances are paying off – literally – for Wayne State students. US News & World Report’s 2022 Top Colleges Rankings identified Wayne State as one of the top performing schools in the country – and the best in Michigan – at helping economically disadvantaged students succeed and graduate.

Wayne State is ranked 66th in the country and first in Michigan for the social mobility it provides to its students.

The ranking is calculated by looking at the number of students who enroll and graduate who have received Pell scholarships. Students who receive Pell Grants typically come from households with a family income of less than $ 50,000.

According to US News, “Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to complete college, even after accounting for other characteristics. But some colleges are more successful than others in advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students on Pell scholarships.

All of the aforementioned gains were made possible through the Student Success Initiative which began a decade ago with the hiring of over 45 academic advisors and other academic staff, and has evolved to include more than 150 projects and initiatives to support students.