This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2002, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
While Brigham Young University's enrollment has increased modestly in the past decade, the number of graduating students has exploded, says school President Merrill J. Bateman.
but also one of the most efficient in the nation," Bateman told a packed Marriott Center crowd for Thursday's summer commencement.
Pointing to a chart projected inside the auditorium, Bateman said that while enrollment in the private, LDS Church-owned school has climbed just 7 percent in the past decade, the number of graduates has increased 45 percent.
The class of 1990 totaled 6,432 compared with this year's class of 9,302 -- 2,867 of whom received their diplomas this month. BYU's annual enrollment is capped at 29,000.
Almost one-third of BYU's student body completed their education this year.
Contributing to the school's productivity increase is a reduction by more than one semester in the average time it takes for students to graduate, said Bateman, adding, "students have become more determined to complete their education."
In the early '90s, less than 60 percent of entering freshman at the Provo-based university were graduating. Today, about 80 percent stay the course.
Bateman did not mention it, but 55 percent of this year's grads transferred to BYU from other colleges, which also could have boosted productivity.
Bateman's comments come just as Utah's public colleges and universities debate ways to improve their graduation and retention rates.
"Efficiency" has become the watchword of the state Board of Regents, which has organized a task force on student success in response to pressure from the Legislature.
Regents already have approved a policy that slaps a tax on students who take too long to graduate. And starting this fall, Utah State University is guaranteeing that all freshmen who agree to follow a prescribed course of study will graduate in four years. If they miss the four-year mark, USU picks up the tab for any extra classes needed.
Even so, Utah's public colleges fall well behind the top states nationally at keeping students on board and shipping them out fast.
According to a study published last year by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, only 66 percent of four-year college freshmen here return their sophomore year, compared with 84 percent for top states. BYU, meanwhile, boasts a retention rate of 86 percent.
The report also shows that only 29 percent of Utah's first-time, full-time students graduate within five years.
BYU's grads were told Thursday that they should strive to be more productive.
"You begin this new phase in your lives in a world where there is a feeling of entitlement rather than gratitude," said Margaret D. Nadauld, president of the LDS Church's Young Women's group and a BYU trustee. "Your education doesn't entitle you to anything. But it does open doors that will allow you to go out and be productive."
In BYU's class of 2002, 51 percent of graduates are women. The youngest student is 15 years old and the oldest is 61. More than 50 percent are married and their cumulative grade point average is 3.38.
Ryan Galbraith/The Salt Lake Tribune