Factchecking Kent State’s “We’re #1″ Billboards
Kent State University
Kent State University has erected nearly 20 of these billboards.
Kent State University has launched a new $100,000 advertising campaign featuring nearly 20 billboards proclaiming Kent State State “#1 in college graduates in Northeast Ohio.”
But what exactly does that mean? A commenter on Kent State’s Facebook wall wrote:
“I saw it on I77 in Cleveland. I’m not exactly sure what it means, though. Does Kent have a higher percentage of graduates, or is it just bigger? One means something and one doesn’t.”
Kent State spokesperson Emily Vincent says it means that “Kent State produces the most graduates among universities in Northeast Ohio.”
That’s true: Kent State awarded 5,223 bachelor’s, doctor’s and master’s degrees and various certificates in the 2009-10 school year, the most recent federal data shows. That’s nearly 900 more degrees than runner-up University of Akron. (State-wide, Kent State is actually #4 in the number of graduates produced, behind Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University.)
But that’s only one side of the story. What about Kent State’s graduation rate?
In an interview with Kent State’s student TV station, Vice President for University Relations Iris Harvey said that the billboards were intended to let families know that “great things happen every day at Kent State.” She said:
“One of the great things is our commitment to our students and student success. One of the best way of measuring that is graduation… You make a big investment in an university education. And so we wanted people to know, that coming here, you are more likely to finish.”
That’s the part that isn’t so true.
Kent State has one of the lowest graduation rates in Northeast Ohio. The most recent federal data (for full-time students who first entered college in 2003) shows that 49 percent of Kent State students aiming for bachelor’s degrees graduated within six years.
Here are the total number of graduates and bachelor’s degree graduation rates for some of Northeast Ohio’s largest colleges and universities:
College Graduates: Northeast Ohio Institutions
Institution Name | # of Graduates | Graduation Rate | # of Graduates Rank | Graduation Rate Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State University at Kent | 5,223 | 49% | 1 | 10 |
| University of Akron Main Campus | 4,357 | 33% | 2 | 12 |
| Cleveland State University | 3,509 | 29% | 3 | 13 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 2,811 | 80% | 4 | 2 |
| Cuyahoga Community College District | 2,361 | n/a | 5 | 14 |
| Youngstown State University | 2,150 | 34% | 6 | 11 |
| Ashland University | 1,734 | 60% | 7 | 8 |
| Lorain County Community College | 1,364 | n/a | 8 | 15 |
| Baldwin-Wallace College | 1,019 | 68% | 9 | 5 |
| John Carroll University | 900 | 75% | 10 | 4 |
| Oberlin College | 663 | 86% | 11 | 1 |
| Walsh University | 649 | 60% | 12 | 9 |
| Malone University | 627 | 61% | 13 | 7 |
| University of Mount Union | 455 | 63% | 14 | 6 |
| The College of Wooster | 396 | 76% | 15 | 3 |
Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System | Data Notes
