Evaluating Cross-National Metrics of Tertiary Graduation Rates for Oecd Countries: A Case for Increasing Methodological Congruence and Data Comparability

Abstract

By examining the different methods and processes by which national data gathering agencies compile and submit their findings to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the authors (1) assess the methodological challenges of accurately reporting tertiary completion and graduation rates cross-nationally; (2) to examine the incongruence of existing internationally comparative data on tertiary completion, particularly within the OECD; and (3) to offer policy recommendations for increasing the congruence and comparability of U.S. higher education data with that of other OECD countries (and the rest of the world).The American system of higher education contrasts radically with the modes of organization prevalent in most developed as well as developing countries. Seen from the vantage point of European and English modes of academic organization alone, the American system stands as a special case not only by virtue of its huge size, but also its dispersion of control, variety of institutional forms, and a host of [other] characteristics.

The Cross-National Relevance of U.S. Formulated Theories of College Student Departure

“…Table 1 lists those countries that have adopted this dual payment system. 2 Table 3 in the article of this special issue by Heuser, Drake, andOwens (2012-2013) provides graduation rates for four countries that practice the 1 referenced above: The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Of these four countries, only the Slovak Republic displays a graduation rate higher (57% in 2008) than the average for the countries listed in Table 3 (40.06% in 2008).…”