Grand Valley Ranks High in Annual Accountability Report

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Grand Rapids-based Grand Valley State University was cited as one of the top four Michigan universities for freshman to sophomore retention (84 percent) in 2015, says the university’s 10th annual Accountability Report.

According to the Accountability Report, which tracks more than 40 measures of performance and student outcomes, Grand Valley is attracting a record number of students while demonstrating positive results in key areas of retention, graduation rates, providing access to students who otherwise could not afford a college education, and keeping students moving on the path to graduation.

“Grand Valley reports annually on our performance so that all of our constituencies  — students, parents, donors, state policy makers, and the communities that host our campuses — can see how we well we do with the resources entrusted to us,” says Matt Mclogan, vice president of University Relations at Grand Valley.

The 2016-17 report shows Grand Valley receives the second-lowest funding per student and its tuition remains in the bottom half of all Michigan public universities.

Comparatively, the report says the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, (97 percent); Michigan State University in East Lansing, (92 percent); and Michigan Technological University in Houghton, (87 percent) hold the first three spots for freshman to sophomore retention rate.

In turn, Grand Valley welcomed 25,460 students in the fall of this year, while Michigan State had 49,317, U-M had 44,639, and Wayne State University had 27,326 students.

The report shows nearly 94 percent of GVSU’s recent graduates are employed or in graduate school, and nearly 85 percent are working in Michigan. Nearly 23,500 of the university’s students enrolled in the fall 2016 semester are Michigan residents, with Kent, Ottawa, Oakland, Wayne, Macomb, and Muskegon as the most represented counties.

In 2009, Grand Valley’s was also listed as one of the top three in graduation rates at 67 percent, the report says. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (90 percent) and Michigan State University (77 percent) hold the first and second graduation rate spots in the state for that year.

Chartered by the Michigan legislature in 1960, Grand Valley offers 124 degrees, has 486 student organizations, and an average class size of 26. The university had $780 million in total estimated impact of faculty, staff, and students in the surrounding Kent, Ottawa, and Muskegon counties last year.

For more information, visit gvsu.edu.