<p>I just want to correct something that may be misleading: There has been no grade deflation at Swarthmore or Williams in at least the last 50 years. The median GPA at both schools in recent years has been in the B+ range.</p>
<p>The graduation rates at top schools have skyrocketed over the years. For example, the 4 year grad rate for Swarthmore’s Class of 1975 was 73%. Compare to the four-year grad rate for the Class of 2005 at 91%.</p>
<p>Why? I would suggest that the safety net and support services available to, and routinely used by, today’s students is a big part of the reason. </p>
<p>For example, back in the 1970’s nobody went to Psych Services unless they were certifiably nuts and hallucinating (without mushrooms). Today, it is routine for college students to turn to Psych services for a little bolstering during a trying period in college. Large percentages (a quarter to a third) of students will have gone for at least an informal buck-me-up during their four years. Parents should encourage this, with most going for just one informal counseling chat to get over a hurdle.</p>
<p>The mentoring programs available today simply didn’t exist thirty years ago. For example, Swarthmore’s Writing Associates program is a model that has now been implemented by just about every liberal arts college. Student’s are trained in peer review of papers. At Swarthmore, the Writing Associates (WAs) take a special semester long course. Any student can drop in any time to discuss their topic, their outline, or their rough draft of a paper and get suggestions from a WA. Some courses have a WA assigned and review of rough draft by the WA or the professor is mandatory. These writing programs are widely used at many schools. It’s a tremendous advantage for a student to feel comfortable getting a peer review of a paper before turning in a final copy. Imagine how this helps a student who comes to a reach school without the best writing skills or confidence.</p>
<p>Study groups have been around forever, but schools are now formalizing them with department support. For example, Swarthmore uses some of their Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant money to support Biology and Chem study groups, led by junior and senior majors to assist in the groups working through problem sets, complete with donuts and coffee. Attendance is sky high and internal studies show that regular participation actually increases grades statistically. Again, these are support functions that were nowhere near as formalized or widely available thirty years ago.</p>