TCU Aims to Make Its Impressive Graduation Rate Even Higher

When you set the bar high and then reset it higher, some might think it is a stretch goal.  

Project 90 – having 90% of TCU undergrads graduate within six years – is such an ambitious goal. But, thanks to the work of the predecessor Project 85 task force that exceeded their goal, it’s a challenge the new task force is confident of achieving. 

“It’s big,” Keri Cyr, executive director of Student Success and Project 90 co-chair, said of the new goal. “But TCU is extremely student-centered, especially for undergrads. If they want a TCU degree, we want them to get it. They and their families have high expectations for TCU, and we need to be sure we’re meeting those.” 

Why six years? In higher education, the six-year, full-time, first-time rate is the common industry measurement, Cyr explained. Several students may take longer than four years due to a changed major, personal circumstance or many other factors, so six years becomes the common measurement.

In 2016, TCU set a goal of having at least 85% of students graduate within six years. That goal was exceeded in fall 2023 with an 85.52% rate. Cyr served as Project 85 vice co-chair, and while much of the success of that first task force can be attributed to “low-hanging fruit,” she said, planning is now underway to achieving the 90% goal. 

Among the new task force’s focus areas are finding potential barriers and hurdles that keep students from graduating within six years, including re-examining policies that contribute to those. According to Cyr, who is co-chairing with Annorah Moorman, associate vice provost for Student Success, the task force is off and running with several major projects progressing now.  

Project 85 academic support initiatives – like the Student Success Center, which incorporates tutoring and academic coaching – will continue to be enhanced with additional academic support. That will be provided through targeted outreach to students who do not meet initial benchmarks in classes with the highest drop/fail rates, as well as programming/research teaching specific learning strategies in some of the most challenging courses nationwide: biology and chemistry. 

“We know which courses have high drop rates,” said Cyr. “We want to be sure that students in those have the support systems they need to keep from dropping. Is tutoring what they need? What they want? What other mechanisms do we need for students, especially if they want a high grade, even though they’re passing?”

Other initiatives from Project 85, like exit interviews, will continue to be developed.  

“Right now, the exit interview process is an online survey, and we’d like to be able to talk to these students, maybe via Zoom, because we want to know why they’re dropping,” Cyr said.  

Project 90 is utilizing Tim Lauve-Moon’s advanced sociology class to examine the exit interview tool, and two undergraduate interns in Keith Whitworth’s advanced sociology courses are designing focus groups.   

Additionally, new advising software that allows TCU to better store and access information continues to be onboarded. Initiatives outside of the classroom will be among opportunities the task force evaluates. That could mean more summer prep or testing, with a goal of knowing if students are really ready.  

“What kind of preparations do we provide if they’re not?” Cyr said.  

Moorman said that the partnership between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs is integral to success.  

“These strong collaborative efforts are resulting in institutional change to better support our students and remove barriers,” Moorman said. “We wouldn’t be able to make the changes we are making without both groups working together with the common goal of student success.” 

As the task force establishes leadership, a timeframe, initiatives and strategies, they’ll bring in stakeholder groups as needed and lean on existing working groups and committees. That extends to TCU Athletics to ensure student-athletes are getting the help they need. 

Also integral is to make sure retention rates for first and second-year students stay at the 97% rate to be able to achieve the 90% goal.  

“The vast majority of our students graduate in four years,” said Cyr. “As a whole, TCU’s graduation rate is excellent, especially when compared with our peers. Nothing is really broken – we just need to fill in the smallest of gaps and continue collaborative efforts between both academic and student affairs to ensure they are providing seamless services and support for students. We’re fortunate that our faculty and staff all share the same goal: student success!”