As
a public institution, we have a responsibility of thoughtful stewardship
of public resources, and to the extent that students are not retained
until they complete degrees and the graduation rate is low that stewardship
can be questioned. We also have an equally important imperative to
provide educational opportunity to the citizens of North Carolina,
and issues of access sometimes appear to be at odds with increasing
retention and graduation rates. The overriding expectation that I
have for this task force is that you fully develop for the consideration
by the NC State university community a sound philosophical perspective
on the issue of retention and graduation rate. Such a philosophical
perspective should be the foundation for our continuing retention
and time to graduation goals, as well as for our assessment of progress
towards meeting them.
