CSU Plans to Boost Graduation Rate

California State University Attempts to Boost Graduation Rate
Aiming to raise its graduation rate, California State University (CSU) is trying to help low-income and minority students receive diplomas even as they are facing the grimmest budget outlook the state has ever seen. The university has set a goal of boosting its 6 year graduation rate to 8% by 2016 and intends to increase the number of graduates by 7,000 or 8,000 students annually. The nation’s largest university system, CSU has about 450,000 students and about 90,000 graduates each year. Measures being considered to make these goals a reality include reducing the number of general education courses that students need to complete to graduate and restricting a student’s ability to withdraw from a class or major. Although the feasibility of CSU’s goal is questionable, it is known that moving students through the system faster saves money, something many campuses had begun addressing and implementing.
Not everyone condones these measures however. Many students protested the measures the CSU system is planning to implement and faculty members at some Cal State campuses have complained that they had too little input into the plans. On the other hand, there are others praising the goal of graduating more students, but fear that the university will use gimmicks to make it appear that more are succeeding.
The Education Trust is working alongside university systems, including Cal State, to collect data and help develop goals and strategies. It plans to formulate a semiannual progress report on schools' efforts. With a mission of improving educational opportunities for low-income and minority students, the advocacy group in the past has criticized many of the university systems for failing to improve graduation rates, and is now taking a more active part in the process.
[/center]

Aiming to raise its graduation rate, California State University (CSU) is trying to help low-income and minority students receive diplomas even as they are facing the grimmest budget outlook the state has ever seen. The university has set a goal of boosting its 6 year graduation rate to 8% by 2016 and intends to increase the number of graduates by 7,000 or 8,000 students annually. (as) The nation’s largest university system, CSU has about 450,000 students and about 90,000 graduates each year. Measures being considered to make these goals a reality include reducing the number of general education courses that students need to complete to graduate and restricting a student’s ability to withdraw from a class or major. Although the feasibility of CSU’s goal is questionable, it is known that moving students through the system faster saves money, something many campuses had begun addressing and implementing.
Not everyone condones these measures however (awk). Many students protested the measures the CSU system is planning to implement and faculty members at some Cal State campuses have complained that they had too little input into the plans. On the other hand, there are others praising the goal of graduating more students, but fear that the university will use gimmicks to make it appear that more are succeeding.
The Education Trust is working alongside university systems, including Cal State, to collect data and help develop goals and strategies. It plans to formulate a semiannual progress report on schools' efforts. With a mission of improving educational opportunities for low-income and minority students, the advocacy group in the past has criticized many of the university systems for failing to improve graduation rates, and is now taking a more active part in the process.

California State University Attempts to Boost Graduation Rate
by Evan Delgado, staff writer
The economic depression has it the country hard, especially industries concerning education, especially in California, which’s state budget is in turmoil. Aiming to raise its graduation rate, California State University (CSU) is trying to help low-income and minority students receive diplomas even as they are facing the grimmest budget outlook the state has ever seen. The university has set a goal of boosting its 6 year graduation rate to 8% by 2016 and intends to increase the number of graduates by 7,000 or 8,000 students annually. As the nation’s largest university system, CSU has about 450,000 students and about 90,000 graduates each year. Measures being considered to make these goals a reality include reducing the number of general education courses that students need to complete to graduate and restricting a student’s ability to withdraw from a class or major.
Although the feasibility of CSU’s goal is questionable, it is known that moving students through the system faster saves money, something many campuses had begun addressing and implementing. Not everyone condones these measures however. “I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to set your expectations lower,” said English teacher Mrs. Lee Many students protested the measures the CSU system is planning to implement and faculty members at some Cal State campuses have complained that they had too little input into the plans. On the other hand, there are others praising the goal of graduating more students, but fear that the university will use gimmicks to make it appear that more are succeeding.
The Education Trust is working alongside university systems, including Cal State, to collect data and help develop goals and strategies. It plans to formulate a semiannual progress report on schools' efforts. With a mission of improving educational opportunities for low-income and minority students, the advocacy group in the past has criticized many of the university systems for failing to improve graduation rates, and is now taking a more active part in the process. “I believe that it is a good idea to increase the number of people who graduate with a degree, but the plan shouldn't set goals for specific racial groups. Instead it should focus on the wealth of the family and the student; the poor students should be more focused on than those who have more money, and are more able to pay on their own,” said freshmen Scott Mathog.
Although this is a controversial issue, the absolute outcome is uncertain. While the system could help CSU’s economic troubles and help certain individuals in the system, it is argued that it could reduce the quality of the education the university system has to offer. The future is uncertain, but people will continue to be divided on the prospect of boosting graduation rates for some time.

California State University Attempts to Boost Graduation Rate
by Evan Delgado, staff writer
The economic depression has it the country hard, especially industries concerning education, especially in California, which’s state budget is in turmoil. Aiming to raise its graduation rate, California State University (CSU) is trying to help low-income and minority students receive diplomas even as they are facing the grimmest budget outlook the state has ever seen. The university has set a goal of boosting its 6 year graduation rate to 8% by 2016 and intends to increase the number of graduates by 7,000 or 8,000 students annually. As the nation’s largest university system, CSU has about 450,000 students and about 90,000 graduates each year. Measures being considered to make these goals a reality include reducing the number of general education courses that students need to complete to graduate and restricting a student’s ability to withdraw from a class or major. They also intend to keep students on the path to degree with audits, enforced advisory sessions, and economic incentives for graduating on time.
Although the feasibility of CSU’s goal is questionable, it is known that moving students through the system faster saves money, something many campuses had begun addressing and implementing. Not everyone condones these measures however. “I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to set your expectations lower,” said English teacher Mrs. Lee Many students protested the measures the CSU system is planning to implement and faculty members at some Cal State campuses have complained that they had too little input into the plans. On the other hand, there are others praising the goal of graduating more students, but fear that the university will use gimmicks to make it appear that more are succeeding.
The Education Trust is working alongside university systems, including Cal State, to collect data and help develop goals and strategies. It plans to formulate a semiannual progress report on schools' efforts. With a mission of improving educational opportunities for low-income and minority students, the advocacy group in the past has criticized many of the university systems for failing to improve graduation rates, and is now taking a more active part in the process. “I believe that it is a good idea to increase the number of people who graduate with a degree, but the plan shouldn't set goals for specific racial groups. Instead it should focus on the wealth of the family and the student; the poor students should be more focused on than those who have more money, and are more able to pay on their own,” said freshmen Scott Mathog.
Although this is a controversial issue, the absolute outcome is uncertain. While the system could help CSU’s economic troubles and help certain individuals in the system, it is argued that it could reduce the quality of the education the university system has to offer. The future is uncertain, but people will continue to be divided on the prospect of boosting graduation rates for some time.

I've got one more quote coming fourth period, and it will be in the article right at lunch. I came this morning, but the teacher wanted a bit more time to forumalte the quote.