USU looks at four-year graduation incentives
Forty-three percent of first time, full-time students at Utah State University graduate in six years or less, said Kyle Hyde, assistant director of the Planning and Analysis Office.
In four years, 22 percent of USU students graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and this graduation rate is lower than USU’s peer’s average, said Joyce Kinkead, vice provost of Undergraduate Admissions.
Kinkead said she feels it is a problem, so USU is beginning to look at programs to help students graduate in four years.
Modeled after numerous programs across the country, a time to graduation initiative is being discussed at USU, and will hopefully be approved in a draft form in mid-April, Kinkead said.
“Aggies in Eight” or “Finish in Four” are two possible names for such a program, but Kinkead said the name is still under consideration.
The concept, however, is concrete, Kinkead said: Help students graduate in four years.
According to an article by Jeffery Selingo in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the percentage of students taking more than six years to graduate nationwide has risen from 25 percent in 1977 to 30 percent in 1998.
Hyde said at USU, 43 percent of the students entering USU in 1994 have graduated, 4 percent are still enrolled and about 20 percent have transferred to other institutions. The remaining 33 percent have either dropped out or transferred without the university’s knowledge, Hyde said.
Kinkead said these numbers do take into account approved leaves of absence such as missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Peace Corps enrollment.
Students who take longer than four years to graduate lose money, Kinkead said. Taking six years to graduate costs a student an additional $4,899 on average, according to USU’s Financial Impact of Delaying Graduation document. Losses in income because of extended schooling are $41,207 in the first two years. Kinkead said there are also additional impacts on lifetime career earnings.
Selingo said reasons for the increased time to graduation include higher costs forcing students to work, shoddy advising and unavailability of classes.
These issues will be addressed with the new program, Kinkead said.
“We are looking to be more proactive in planning students’ undergraduate careers and ensure that we are not impeding their progress,” Kinkead said.
Students feel they have to work to pay for school, Kinkead said, but if they do an economic analysis they will find it is more cost-effective in the future to work fewer hours, take out low-interest student loans and graduate more quickly.
“A lot of students don’t think about the implications 10 or 15 years down the road,” Kinkead said.
One of the main problems Kinkead said students have in their path to graduation is retaking classes or not being able to get into the required classes for graduation. The contract between the student and USU will ensure these problems are solved.
The terms of the program are tentative, but a student participating in the graduation plan will most-likely sign a contract with USU promising to take placement exams, take 30 credits each year, not retake classes and follow a four-year course approved by their adviser, Kinkead said.
In return, the university would provide priority registration, approved leave possibilities and a specialized adviser.
“This would require good advisers. Advisers are key,” Kinkead said.
Kinkead said USU is also looking at helping students by providing on-campus employment and reduced-cost housing for those involved in the program.
One major concern with graduation guarantee programs is they rush students’ educational experiences, Kinkead said, but she said that will not be the goal of USU’s program.
“We want to make sure students have a full experience and not rush them. But if they want to get through, we will ensure that they can with a graduation guarantee. It’s a contract with responsibility,” Kinkead said.
But this program will not be for every entering student, Kinkead said.
“It’s the student’s choice, and we will target about 500 freshmen for specialized attention,” she said. “It will be a service the students can take advantage of.”
Culturally, Utah has some unique features that add to the graduation bottleneck, Kinkead said.
More than 50 percent of USU’s students are married by graduation, Kinkead said, and many of those have families, which may affect the time it takes for students to graduate.
“Families increase the priorities that compete for a student’s time,” Kinkead said.
USU is looking at providing child care, classrooms in Aggie Village and other elements to facilitate education for parents, Kinkead said, and they are also trying to find out what married people need.
Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ may be a factor if returning missionaries “need a refresher,” Kinkead said, and retake classes like math or biology.
Kinkead also said students in Utah seem to be averse to loans because they do not want to go into debt, but she suggested talking to the Financial Aid Office to find out what options are available.
Another issue is that any success the program has will not be able to be measured for six years, Kinkead said, so those looking for immediate results will be disappointed.
The federal government has become interested in the time students are taking to graduate because they feel those super seniors are taking up space and blocking others from getting into the classes they need, Kinkead said.
The legislature is looking at penalizing students for repeating classes, but Kinkead said USU does not want that governmental intrusion.
“We want to see what we can do for [ourselves] by looking at our benchmarks, setting new goals and measuring our progress,” Kinkead said.