University of Virginia Library

Misleading Statistics

The Office of Institutional
Analysis, grandly occupying rooms
designed for students on the
Monroe Hill Range, proudly
presents the University
Administration with statistics
showing that 70 per cent of the
entering class of 1965 succeeded in
obtaining degrees by the end of five
academic years and a summer.
Considering that the national
average is supposed to be about 50
per cent this is a resounding victory
for those who advocated expansion
as the panacea for education. Right?
The Administration thinks it is.
Well, it sounds good at Board
meetings anyway. The fact is that
only 53.3 per cent of that same
entering class graduated in the
Spring of 1969 as it was supposed
to, and if I had the Draft breathing
down my neck at the height of the
American involvement in
Indochina I would have made
damn sure that I stayed in school
with my 2-S deferment as long as
possible too. So much for statistics
that purport to show the benefits
of the Administration's most recent
five year plan.