The 4-year myth

Did you finish your degree in four-years?  I didn't - I took five.  Why didn't I finish in four? Because no one encouraged me to do so or fully explained to me what is required to complete in four years. In the end, I took out more students loans, which I am still paying off, and delayed my entrance into the workforce.

The fact of the matter is that graduating with a college degree in four years is more the exception than the rule in higher education today. In the past not finishing in four years might have been OK when tuition rates were more affordable. But today, the fact of the matter is that the cost of higher education is becomingly increasingly burdensome for many families and the prospect of paying for four, much less five or more years for a bachelor's degree is problematic. 

A recent report entitled the 4-Year Myth, by my organization, Complete College America reveals that very few public colleges and universities graduate students in four years and that students who take longer than four-years end up paying much more for their education. The report also goes on to describe how colleges have created a culture that allows and, in some cases, encourages students to take longer than four years to complete a degree.  

There are many practices by colleges that undermine students' efforts to complete a college degree on time. Among them are:

• Academic advising that allows or even encourages students to enroll in less than the required 15 credits per term that students need to complete a degree on time.
• Complicated processes for transferring credits from a previous college or dual enrollment program that results in students not receiving credit for courses they have taken.
• The lack of a clear academic schedule for new entering students that get students off on the right foot by taking general education or entry-level courses that apply toward a degree in their desired field.
• Poor advising to students who have not decided on a major, resulting in students wandering through the curriculum, taking courses that don't add up to a degree. 
• Financial aid programs that consider full-time at 12 credits, resulting in substantially higher out of pocket expenses for students who seek to enroll in 15 credits or more per term.  

Fortunately our report goes on to describe a set of strategies we call Guided Pathways to Success that colleges and universities can adopt to encourage more students to complete a degree.  

In upcoming blog posts (I promise to be better about posting in the future) I will provide some pointers on how parents and students can better discern whether the colleges they are considering provide the support students need to graduate on time;   We will explore questions you can ask when you visit campuses or information you can look for in college materials.  

Students don't have to take five years or more to complete their degree!