In an email to faculty on Thursday, Feb. 12, University President Dr. Daniel Wubah addressed dissatisfaction with four-year graduation rates, resulting in the formation of a “Task Force.”
Co-led by Department of Special Education Chair Dr. Janet Bertoni and Lombardo College of Business Dean Dr. Marc Tomljanovich, the task force submitted a report in December 2025, “outlining a coordinated plan to increase our four-year graduation rate by at least 10 percentage points over the next five years.”
“As many of you are aware, our four-year graduation rate has remained between 36% and 38% for the past decade,” Wubah wrote. “While our students achieve extraordinary success during their time at Millersville, too many are taking longer than four years to complete their degrees.”
PASSHE’s school-wide four-year graduation rate was 44.1% in 2024, according to the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
Appointed by Wubah as “Coordinator of Graduation Rates” was School of Social Work professor and chair Dr. Karen Rice, who “brings a strong record of leadership, deep commitment to student achievement, and a university-wide perspective that positions her well for this responsibility.”
“In this role, Dr. Rice will provide strategic leadership and coordination for the University-wide implementation of the Graduation Rate Action Plan,” Wubah wrote. “She will work collaboratively with academic departments, student affairs, enrollment management, advising, and other key partners to ensure alignment, establish clear metrics for accountability, and sustain institutional momentum.”
Particular attention will also be given to “supporting first-generation students, underrepresented students, and nontraditional learners,” groups that Wubah wrote are “populations for whom timely degree completion is especially consequential.”
“Improving our four-year graduation rate is not the work of one office or one individual,” Wubah wrote. “I am confident that, working together, we will accelerate progress and better support our students in achieving their educational goals on time and with distinction.”
