She would’ve preferred finishing it in four years, but Porshe Chiles’ five-year march
toward earning her college degree was still a worthy feat.
The 23-year-old Duncanville native, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in
journalism at UT Tyler, didn’t have the easiest path through college, despite having
impressive academic credentials.
She overcame economic barriers, personal tragedy and family illnesses to reach her goal.
And she worked hard — at times holding down three jobs in addition to taking a full
course load.
"I knew going in that some people take a little longer than others," Ms. Chiles said.
"But there was no way I was going to start this and then not finish."
Porshe Chiles’ path to a college degree was aided by several programs at UT Tyler aimed at speeding graduation rates.
Ms. Chiles had perseverance, no doubt, but there was help from the university to
keep her on track for graduation.
UT Tyler helped her secure several work-study opportunities, provided her with
continuous guidance on financial aid matters and helped her master mathematics
through a series of tutorial sessions.
And she wasn’t the only one benefiting from such university programs.
UT Tyler, in an effort to speed the path from college admission to graduation,
boosted its six-year graduation rate from 44 percent to 55 percent — 2 percentage
points higher than the national average — in just two years, according to that
university’s latest figures.
In fact, most UT System institutions reported gains in their five- and six-year
graduation rates over the same period.
A study which tracked student cohorts entering UT System institutions from 1998 to
1999 showed seven of the System’s nine academic campuses posted increases in six-year
graduation rates by an average of 3.3 percentage points. The highest gain — at UT
Tyler — was 11 percentage points.
Moreover, four of nine institutions increased four-year graduation rates by an average
of 4.3 percentage points, and six of nine institutions posted gains in five-year
graduation rates by an average of 4 percentage points. Besides UT Tyler, two other
institutions — UT Austin and UT Dallas — also exceed the national average graduation
rate of 53 percent over six years.
Although some programs intended to speed up graduation rates didn’t go into effect
until after the UT System launched an initiative to do just that in May 2006, students
were able to benefit from other programs already in place. By the start of the fall
2007 semester, all UT System institutions will have a full complement of programs
operating that are designed to enhance graduation rates.
In 2006, The UT System Board of Regents made improving graduation rates one of its
highest educational priorities. Regents also directed campus leaders to adopt
aggressive strategies to meet specified targets by the year 2010, and to report
progress on graduation rates quarterly.
"We believe we have established a comprehensive approach to improving graduation
rates across the board — one that will have a profound impact on how students
achieve progress and graduate on time," said Geri H. Malandra, vice chancellor for
strategic management. "Our system-wide initiative is unrivaled anywhere else in
the country."
Assuming UT System academic institutions continue to improve graduation rates at
their current pace, which is roughly 2 percentage points per year, almost all
campuses would meet their target goal for 2010, Ms. Malandra said.
As for Ms. Chiles, her advice to students who want to avoid a lengthy (and costlier)
college experience is simple: "Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can."
