By Voice staff

A recent front page newspaper article by the Bay Area News Group on the low 17 percent graduation rates for freshmen who entered Oakland’s Holy Names University in 2002 reported an “anomaly” rather than a trend, university officials told The Catholic Voice last week. In fact, the graduation rate for each year’s freshman class has been rising and this year is expected to reach 60 percent.

In an email interview with The Voice, Notre Dame Sister Rosemarie Nassif, HNU’s president, said that over the last seven years the university’s average graduation rate has been 38 percent. The average for public four-year liberal arts universities is 31.3 percent and 43.7 percent for private four-year liberal arts universities.

Nassif said many of HNU’s incoming freshmen are the first in their family to attend college. “This means they don’t have the inner circle understanding and support as to what is expected in college and how to successfully navigate the systems,” she said.

To help them remain in school and succeed, the university has introduced numerous new programs including a Student Success Center that offers health and wellness services, a 21st century tech support system, peer and group tutoring, and skill-building seminars.

Two other programs target incoming freshmen. One provides a three-to-four week summer residential program aimed at helping students make the transition from high school to college.

The other gives students opportunities to join noontime campus discussions on local and national issues, participate in such social justice causes as Habitat for Humanity and the Breast Cancer Walk, and take field trips related to specific course content. A peer mentor program is also available.

“These programs have made a significant impact on our retention rate by increasing the fall-to-fall rate of freshmen from the mid-60 percent to an average of 74 percent over the last three years,” Nassif said.

She attributed the 17 percent graduation rate for 2002 freshmen to the university’s “period of transition” before the introduction of the student support systems specifically focused on retention.

Finances is another factor for students at the school, she said. Fifty percent of Holy Names’ students qualify for a federal Pell Grant, meaning they do not have sufficient economic resources to pay for college. This is 20 percent higher than the national average.

Ninety-nine percent of HNU’s graduates have received scholarships or other financial aid, said Nassif, noting that the university allocates 20 percent of its budget to scholarships and need-based aid.

Over the past 10 years, the university has seen a dramatic rise in enrollment, reaching 1160 in 2009, the highest in the school’s history. Undergraduate enrollment has jumped from 221 in 1999 to 556 in 2009. Nassif said the campus has reached its full capacity of residential students. “This contributes to a vibrant student life experience which motivates persistence to graduation.”

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