College: The New Six-Year Degree
Ablang
by David S. Eisen
If a student's formative years are spent in grammar school, then
college is a time to exercise independence and--parents hope--choose a
career path. But these days, a sizable amount of college students are
taking as long to attain a college degree as it takes to jump from
grammar school to junior high.
The four-year degree is largely a thing of the past. According to a
2006 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, less than
35 percent of students at "four-year colleges" are able to complete
their bachelor's degree in four years or fewer. But most do graduate--
more than 56 percent eventually get their B.A. within six years. The
data was culled from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
System, which captured graduation rates of full-time undergraduate
students beginning in 1998 from more than 6,500 institutions.
At first glance, many might assume that students lack the motivation
to graduate in four years. While Zola Dincin Schneider, a college
counselor who heads The College Advisory Service in Chevy Chase,
Maryland, admits that some students may have a lower drive to finish
on time, many other variables can contribute to a five- or six-year
undergrad career.
"At many schools, often large universities, there are many
distributive requirements needed for graduation that students aren't
able to fulfill," Schneider says. Often at the root of this is class
oversaturation, she adds. "Classes get filled to the max and students
have to wait to enroll--sometimes for even another cycle. Many courses
don't have enough classes scheduled, or enough professors to go
around."
Other reasons why this is happening? Penn State University, where
students take an average of four and a half years to graduate,
attributes the lengthened college stay to the school's co-op programs
(students work half the time and take courses the other half),
increasing popularity of double majors, and the propensity of students
to take a semester off to work.
Pulling double duty
For Ryan Neff, financial hardship, combined with indecision, led him
to taking more than five years to graduate.
"I switched majors three times," Neff recalls. Yet, above all else,
Neff and many others have had to bear the sole responsibility of
paying for their education. Neff had to work while in school, which
prevented him from meeting the necessary credit requirements to
graduate on time.
Mary Ann Swain, provost at the State University of New York (SUNY) at
Binghamton, has seen a growing shift in the length of time it takes
for a student to graduate due to many of the same factors Neff faced.
"As the cost of an education has shifted from state-tax support to
family contributions, it now takes more hours of work to provide the
same proportion of the costs of one's education," she affirms.
"Students who are working to support their college degrees seem to be
carrying fewer credits per semester than before, and are working more
hours. Thus, their college careers are lengthened."
The maturity gap
Another factor, over which students have more control, is completing
enough credits per semester (most experts recommend at least 15) to
graduate on time. In other words, if a student wants to graduate in
just four years, there's little wiggle room built in for failing,
having to retake courses, or taking 12-credit-or-less semesters.
Norman Arguello, a self-professed socializer, has no trouble admitting
he enjoyed himself too much in school. "It took me longer than four
years to graduate college for many reasons," he explains. "First was
lack of maturity and lack of discipline. When I first went off to
school, I made my social life the most important factor while I was
there."
Arguello, now a University of Kentucky (UK) graduate, was awarded a
scholarship to attend Denison University in Granville, Ohio, but
transferred to UK, which, he says, made it even more difficult to
graduate in four years because he took a year off to make the
transition.
Like many young people in college, Arguello was distracted from his
studies by the vices that abound on college campuses. "I
procrastinated," he said. "I always thought, 'If I don't go to that
fraternity party we're hosting, I will be missing out on a good
time.'"
Offering incentives
While reasons for the longer stints at college vary, colleges and
universities are working hard to make improvements so that lagging
students aren't using up the space that can be given to new
enrollments. At the University of Connecticut's (UConn) Storrs campus,
only about 50 percent of students graduate in four years or fewer. To
improve those numbers, UConn launched the Finish in Four initiative in
2004 to ensure that courses were available to students who needed to
take them, as well as to improve and increase communication between
students and advisers to keep them on track.
The University of Minnesota is sending a similar message to freshmen.
The 2006 incoming class received an envelope containing a tassel that
carried the 2010 date. President Robert Bruininks says the gift is a
reminder for students to stay focused. To date, barely 37 percent of
University of Minnesota students receive a diploma within four years--
a low percentage, but on par with the national average.
Time is money
So what's the real harm in staying in school longer than four years?
For one thing, it can get expensive. Consider students at SUNY-
Binghamton: A New York State resident's tuition as of the 2006-07
school year was $4,350. Of course, that is without other expenses such
as books and room and board. All told, a New York State student could
end up shelling out more than $16,000 per year. Out-of-state students
pay almost $7,000 more.
But students can combat the increasing trend of overdue graduation. If
finances are the problem holding a student back, then SUNY-
Binghamton's Swain encourages students to work closely with the
advising and campus financial aid offices. "Advisers can help students
work out class schedules that fit with jobs and other
responsibilities," she says. "Often, these professionals are able to
help students work with faculty if a student needs to get into a
particular class that might be closed."
Financial-aid officers can also guide students toward outside sources
of financial aid or even work opportunities on campus, which afford
more flexibility than off-campus jobs. Finally, Swain says, students
need to rely on themselves and learn time-management techniques, which
will help them keep up with their coursework and avoid incompletes.
"Such a situation creates additional stress," she says. And that lack
of success, she says, may result in a prolonged stay at college, or
even worse--dropping out.