MSU President Stanley’s November 2021 Spartan Community Letter

<p><a href="https://president.msu.edu">Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.</a></p><p>“Well, thank you so much, Russ. Happy how holidays to you and everybody listening out there. And I hope it's a very restful and peaceful one for all of us.”</p><p>The most important thing we do at this university is educate our students. And Michigan State University's graduation rate is up for the seventh straight year. The rate for first time, full-time students entering MSU in 2015 increased from 81.3% last year to 82.1% this year. What's significant about that, and what does that <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/graduation-rate-increase-for-seventh-year">six-year graduation rate</a> indicate?</p><p>“It's very significant and something we really should celebrate on campus. It really represents the work of an extraordinary number of people who are very dedicated to seeing that number increase. And just to put it in perspective, even though that's 0.8% increase, that's about 53 students. That means there are 53 more students who graduated from MSU who wouldn't have graduated if they'd entered at another point in time who are going to get that MSU degree, go out into the world and make a difference and have lifetime earnings that are about a million dollars higher than students who don't complete a college degree.</p><p>“So, from the state's point of view and from a human endeavor and potential point of view, it's wonderful to get students through and help them graduate. We've had a very steady ascent on this. We do much better than would be anticipated in terms of our graduation rates. They’re higher than one might predict based on the GPAs and SATs and ACTs of students coming in. We make a point of really helping students get through. And I'm very excited about it. I think that's the good news. And we are seeing those increases for all students. So all of our students showed an increase in graduation rates. No students have been left behind.</p><p>“The one challenge we still have, and we talk about it a lot in our s