![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2018\/09\/catholic_high_grad_rates.jpg?resize=550%2C367&ssl=1\")
The graduation rate of Catholic colleges and universities is significantly higher than that of public schools, according to College Scorecard, a database of the U.S. Department of Education. The national average graduation rate was 42 percent in 2015, while the average was 59 percent at Catholic colleges and universities.<\/p>\n
University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s current five-year graduation rate is 63 percent.<\/p>\n
A variety of factors can affect an institution\u2019s graduation rate \u2014 and it\u2019s just one measurement Catholic institutions use to measure higher education success \u2014 but it is an indication of the commitment schools like Detroit Mercy have to their students.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatholic institutions hang their hat on caring about individual students. I know we do here,\u201d said John Staudenmaier, S.J., assistant to the president for Mission & Identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think being an undergraduate anywhere is a harrowing experience, so when you have a faculty that has a tradition of being available, then more kids are going to make their way through the hard things that go on in any undergraduate experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detroit Mercy features a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, which provides students with plenty of individualized attention, and the faculty and staff are known to have open-door policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Jesuit schools, we have this value called \u2018cura personalis,\u2019 which means \u2018care for the whole person,\u2019\u201d said Tim Hipskind, S.J., director of Service Learning for the Institute for Leadership & Service. \u201cI\u2019ve heard students at Detroit Mercy say that\u2019s a fact, that\u2019s not just something we say because it sounds good. The faculty here really care about the students and are very proactive in making sure students succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commitment of faculty and staff to student success also translates to the students themselves and creates an environment where students collaborate and want to see each other succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents feel one of the things that\u2019s unique about Detroit Mercy is students really care about each other,\u201d Hipskind said. \u201cThere\u2019s not this super competitive thing, like, \u2018If so and so does well on the test then I\u2019m not going to look as good.\u2019 There\u2019s not much of that here. The atmosphere is much more, \u2018Let\u2019s help each other get through.\u2019 I asked an open-ended question when I was doing the baccalaureate mass, \u2018What makes Detroit Mercy unique?\u2019 That\u2019s one of the main things they talked about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students also enjoy learning lessons that go far beyond the classroom \u2014 lessons that translate into the work place and into life.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducation at Catholic schools isn\u2019t just about teaching from a book and being able to learn class material, it focuses on forming well-rounded and balanced people,\u201d Detroit Mercy senior and business major Steve Willman said. \u201cCatholic schools, like Detroit Mercy, place a large emphasis on getting involved in the community through various organizations and events on campus. Giving back to the community is an important part of a Catholic education.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catholic colleges and universities are also posting higher graduation rates for students across all races, with the exception of Asian students, based on data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.<\/p>\n
The graduation rate of black students was 43 percent at Catholic colleges and universities, 35 percent at public colleges and universities and 28 percent across all sectors. For Hispanic students, the rate was 52 percent at Catholic schools, 44 percent at public schools and 36 percent across all sectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents are more likely to graduate if they feel connected to their institution and cared for and supported by their professors,\u201d said English Department Chair Mary-Catherine Harrison. \u201cBelonging matters for all students, but it is particularly important for first-generation and low-income students and students from underrepresented minority groups. Catholic universities, like University of Detroit Mercy, are able to foster student belonging because of our commitment to care for the whole person. Our mission is to help students grow in all aspects of their life and identity. This fosters a fundamentally different relationship with our students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catholic higher education has a long tradition of serving low-income students and reaching into communities of underserved populations.<\/p>\n
Research from the Equality of Opportunity Project shows that the percentage of students who have parents in the bottom 20 percent of income distribution in the United States and who reach the top 20 percent of income distribution by their mid-30s is higher for those attending a Catholic college or university \u201430.9 percent to 23.2 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really proud to see underrepresented populations are doing well because that\u2019s really key to Jesuit and Mercy values, and Catholic values as well,\u201d Hipskind said. \u201cWe want to be sure everyone succeeds; we don\u2019t want to just focus on a certain population, especially if they haven\u2019t done well in other areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about Detroit Mercy\u2019s mission and values, please click here<\/a>. \u2014 By Dave Pemberton<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The graduation rate of Catholic colleges and universities is significantly higher than that of public schools, according to College Scorecard, a database of the U.S. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6],"tags":[174,177,179,176,175,61,178],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbwnTV-8w","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":530,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions\/530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}