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ABSTRACT
The study repeated and enlarged upon a March 2000 study that investigated the effects of numerous variables on time to bachelor’s degree attainment. An interest in the stability of the earlier study’s findings, curiosity about the effects of state- and institutionally-sponsored policies not in place at the time of the earlier study that are designed to decrease time-to-degree, and the availability of some additional possible predictor variables led to the current study. The previously-developed model of effects upon time-to-degree remained largely valid, with total student credit hours earned, average credit hour load per semester, and student credit hours transferred being among the strongest predictors of total terms enrolled and total terms elapsed prior to degree attainment. Ohio’s Success Challenge program, which rewards institutions for their students’ timely degree completion, seems to have decreased time-to-degree at BGSU. Further, BGSU’s use of a portion of the Success Challenge funds to provide tuition discounts to students to encourage them to complete their bachelor’s degrees in a timely manner (the Summer Success Challenge program) was also found to be effective. Conclusions and recommendations are included.
BACKGROUND
Concerns on the part of students, parents, governmental agencies, and
the media over ever-increasing tuition levels have led to calls to improve
the effectiveness and efficiency of higher education (Boehner & McKeon,
2003; National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2002). This
external accountability mandate accompanied with institutional sensitivity
about efficient use of scarce resources has pointed to the need for decreasing
undergraduates’ time to bachelor’s degree attainment (Adelman,
1999; Astin, Tsui, & Avalos, 1996; Volkwein & Lorang, 1996). A
readily apparent example of federal government concern with this problem
is the existence of the IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey. Several states such
as Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia have linked graduation
rates to performance funding initiatives. A recent development in Ohio
is the availability to state universities of Success Challenge funds, which
rewards them for the timely degree completion of undergraduates.
A number
of sources, relying upon national data, have concluded that five years
of elapsed time to bachelor’s degree completion, rather than
the traditionally recognized four, has become the de facto average. The
National Center for Educational Statistics High School and Beyond longitudinal
study indicated 57 months as mean time-to-degree (Adelman, 1999). Numerous
anecdotal reasons are offered for increased time-to-degree: more students
are attending part-time, more are transferring between institutions,
more are employed while attending college, a greater percentage need
remedial
coursework, etc. Educational authorities and state legislatures have
also begun to question whether lengthened time-to-degree is the fault
of malingering
students or of the institutions themselves through practices such as
poor advising, insufficient class availability, and a proliferation of
degree
requirements. Higher education governing boards including those of Oregon
(cited in Volkwein & Lorang, 1996) and Texas (Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, 1996) have proposed policies to address increased
time-to-degree, notably in the absence (at least initially) of reliable
research.
A small but growing literature has been developed over recent
years concerning
effects upon time-to-degree. Adelman (1999) found that students who
exhibited no “stop out” behavior, did not transfer between
institutions, had higher freshman grade point averages, were enrolled for
a larger
number of classes per term, withdrew from fewer classes or took fewer
grades of “incomplete,” and
who were female graduated more quickly. Belcheir (2000) determined
that college grade point average was significantly positively related
to timely
graduation. The California State Postsecondary Education Commission
(1988) related time-to-degree to students’ financial need, employment,
and class loads. DesJardins, Ahlburg, and McCall (2002) found that
students with higher grade point averages and financial aid in the
form of campus-based
employment tended to graduate more quickly. Duby and Schartman (1997)
concluded
that students who initially were enrolled for more classes per term
graduated more quickly. The major finding of Hall’s (1999) study
was that “extender” students
(those for whom time-to-degree was increased) took fewer classes per
term. Ishitani
(2003) found that students who had lower high school grade point averages,
were older, had lower family incomes, had lower SAT verbal scores,
and who were among the first generation of their families to attend
college
were more likely to take longer to graduate. Knight (1994) noted that
students with higher cumulative grade point averages at graduation,
fewer total
credit hours earned, fewer classes dropped, and higher SAT scores graduated
more quickly. Lam (1999) studied both total terms enrolled and total
terms elapsed (including “stop out”) for graduates; he
found full-time enrollment, higher grade point average at graduation,
being
an out-of-state
student, being female, changing majors fewer times, percent of loan
dollars in relation to students' total financial aid package, not being
employed,
and being a student of color to be predictive of more rapid degree
completion. Noxel
and Katunich (1998) spotlighted the role of greater student institutional
commitment as facilitating more rapid degree completion. The Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education (1996) associated transfer, class
load per
term, and major-changing behavior with time-to-degree. Volkwein and
Lorang (1996) found that lower class loads per term, receiving financial
aid
in the form of grants, and higher grade point averages were associated
with
longer time-to-degree.
BGSU’s Office of Institutional Research
carried out a comprehensive study in the Spring of 2000 of the effects
of a large set of potential
predictor variables (student background characteristics, remedial
class and summer freshman program participation, pre-enrollment perceptions,
enrollment behaviors, student experiences and perceptions, financial
aid data, and academic outcomes) on time to degree attainment (measured
both
in total terms elapsed and also total actual terms enrolled prior
to
graduation) for the population of 1998-1999 baccalaureate graduates.
Higher average
credit hour load per semester, higher high school grade point average,
being a dependent student as defined for financial aid purposes,
and greater transfer credit hours were significantly related to decreased
semesters
elapsed prior to degree attainment, while greater number of failed
classes and higher total credit hours at graduation were found to
be
significantly
related to increased time-to-degree in terms of semesters elapsed.
Higher average credit hour load per semester and greater transfer
credit hours
earned were found to be significantly related to fewer semesters
enrolled prior to degree completion, while greater total credit hours earned,
greater number of summer semesters enrolled, greater numbers of failed,
cooperative
education, withdrawn, and repeated classes, and participation in
the
Academic Forgiveness Program were found to be significantly related
to increased
time-to-degree in terms of semesters enrolled. Predictors that did
not prove to be significant included dollar volume of student financial
need
unmet through financial aid, graduation with honors, the ratio of
student credit hours earned at graduation to the minimum hours required
in
the student’s degree program, almost all of the college experience
and perceptions variables taken from the BGSU Undergraduate Experiences
Questionnaire,
and all of the pre-college perceptions variables taken from the BGSU
First Year Student Questionnaire. The study’s primary implication
concerned that the need to get students, in appropriate circumstances,
to carry heavier
credit hour loads as a mechanism to shorten time-to-degree. The study
recommended that University-wide discussions should be held about
undergraduates’ class
loads and how, when appropriate, students can be encouraged to increase
them; that academic advisors should encourage students, when appropriate,
to take higher class loads; that University policies (registration,
financial aid, etc.) that define full-time enrollment for undergraduates
as 12 credit
hours should be discussed in light of these findings; that BGSU should
continue to monitor and improve class availability; and that reasons
for extended time-to-degree should be discussed with students by
a variety
of persons within the University.
The Office of Institutional Research
was asked to repeat and enlarge upon the earlier study for the
population of 2002-2003 baccalaureate
graduates.
One reason for this was to determine whether the findings of the
previous study still held true after four years. A second reason
was the availability
of some additional possible predictor variables for the current
study, such as intercollegiate athletic participation, employment (both
on-campus and off-campus), and whether students participate in
a
number of learning
communities and special programs during their first year of college. A
Spring 2002 study by the Office of Institutional Research concluded
that students who participated in these learning communities and
first year
programs were often better retained and sometimes had higher grade
point averages, even after entering student characteristics were
controlled.
Finally and most importantly, the study was repeated to gauge the
effects of state and institutional policies designed to decrease
time to degree
attainment. Ohio’s Success Challenge program has been providing
performance funding to institutions whose students graduate in a “timely
manner” (typically
four years with some documented exceptions). In response BGSU has
reviewed its curricula and taken a number of steps to attempt to
decrease time-to-degree;
one of these is to provide tuition discounts to students to enroll
in their final summer term if this allows them to complete their
programs in 48
months. Evaluating the effects of the Success Challenge program generally
and of the Summer Success Challenge tuition discounting specifically
were important reasons for repeating the study at this time.
METHODOLOGY
Characteristics of the Population
The study examined
influences upon time-to-degree for the entire population of BGSU students
earning bachelor’s degrees in 2002-2003 (N=3,097).
Sixty percent of the population was female, seven percent were students
of color, and 94% were state residents. Average high school grade
point average for the population was 3.17 and average ACT composite
score was 21.8. Two percent of the population participated in
the University Program for Academic Success, which provides special
services to new
students who would otherwise be inadmissible due to their academic
credentials. Eleven
percent were enrolled in the university’s College Reading and
Learning Skills class (EDCI 100), 10% in remedial English (ENG 110),
and 14% in
remedial mathematics (MATH 095). Slightly less than 1% (N=21)
of the students took advantage of the university’s Academic Forgiveness
Program, which permits students returning to the institution after
a period of at least five years away to have their grade point averages
calculated from the point of readmission without losing credit for
previous
coursework with a grade of “C” or better.
For purposes
of this study, students’ major areas of study were
grouped into areas corresponding either to colleges within the University
or divisions
within the College of Arts and Sciences. Approximately 16% of the
students graduated in business administration, 31% in education and human
development, 8% in health and human services, 7% in technology, 7% in
mathematics and sciences, 8% in social sciences, 3% in humanities, 8%
in arts, and
10% in communications. A final 3% of the students had majors in
liberal studies or individually-planned programs; their majors were not
included
in the study.
Seventy percent of the students graduated in programs
whose curricula were subject to the influence of accreditation standards. Seven
percent graduated with double majors and 29% graduated with one or
more minors. Nineteen
percent of the students enrolled in at least one cooperative education
class and14% completed two or more. Seventy-four percent of the
students were enrolled for at least one summer semester; 38% were enrolled
in two
or more, and 14% were enrolled in three or more summer terms. Sixty-three
percent changed their major at least once; 25% changed twice or more,
and 8% changed three or more times. Thirty-three percent of the
population retook at least one class; 19% withdrew from at least one
class, and 32%
failed at least one class. One percent of the students participated
in the university’s honors program. Students on average
earned 42 credit hours in general education classes and earned a mean
grade
point average within general education of 3.06 on a 4.00 scale. The
mean credit hours students completed per semester was 15.6 (median
14.2). Students
graduated with a mean cumulative grade point average of 3.14 and with
an average of 137.8 credit hours total; 22% graduated with honors.
Median
semesters elapsed (including “stop out” semesters) from
matriculation to degree attainment was 12. The median number
of semesters of enrollment prior to degree completion for the population
was nine. As
shown in Figure 1, median semesters elapsed prior to degree attainment
decreased from 14 for the 1998-1999 gradating class and median semesters
enrolled decreased from 10.
Transfer students (N=640) were excluded
from the population; 2,457 remaining students constituted the population
for the remainder
of the analyses. These
students were excluded since significant differences between transfer
and “native” students
were found in both total semesters enrolled and semesters elapsed
to degree (7.2 semesters enrolled for transfer students vs. 10.2
semesters for native
students and 8.8 semesters elapsed for transfer students vs. 13.8
semesters for native students) and also to allow greater comparability
to most previously
published studies. Please note that although transfer students
were excluded from the study population, students may have still
had transfer
credit through activities such as AP, CLEP, simultaneous high school
and college enrollment, and through taking classes at other institutions,
typically
in the summer at an institution near to students’ permanent
residence.
Table 1 arrays characteristics
of the study population and also lists the potential predictor variables
used in the study
as well as the
two dependent
variables, semesters elapsed prior to degree attainment (including
stop-out) and semesters actually enrolled prior to graduation. The
same potential predictor variables (student background characteristics,
enrollment behaviors,
financial aid data, and academic outcomes) as were used in the
Office of Institutional Research’s 2000 study were used in
the current one in order to test whether the same pattern of results
still held,
although,
as noted earlier, some additional potential predictors that were
not available earlier were also included. Although none of
the BGSU First Year Student Questionnaire (FYSQ) variables were
found to be significant predictors
of time-to-degree in the earlier BGSU study, parents’ education
levels were extracted from FYSQ data for the current study since
other recent
published institutional studies found first generation status to
be a significant predictor of longer time to graduation. Table
2 provides median semesters both elapsed and enrolled prior to
degree completion for students
in each
major.
Methods
Data on students’ time-to-degree,
demographic and pre-college educational characteristics, enrollment behavior
variables, academic outcomes, financial
aid, learning community and first year program participation,
parents’ education
levels, and program accreditation status were assembled into
a series of data files by the Office of Institutional Research.
Dichotomous
potential predictor variables were used in a set of t-tests with semesters
elapsed prior to degree completion
and actual
semesters
enrolled prior to degree completion as the dependent variables. Continuous
potential predictor variables were included along with the
same two dependent variables in a correlation analysis.
Two
separate multiple regression analyses were carried out, one
with semesters elapsed prior to degree completion as
the dependent
variable
and another
with semesters enrolled prior to degree completion and the
dependent variable. Variables
used in the univariate analyses noted above that were omitted
from the regressions due to multicollinearity concerns included
ACT sub-scores,
grade point average at the end of students’ freshman
year and in general education classes, number of fall/spring
and summer semesters enrolled,
and student credit hours earned in fall/spring and summer
semesters. Average
student credit hours completed per semesters was also omitted
from the multiple regression analysis with semesters enrolled
prior to degree
completion as the dependent variable due to multicollinearity
concerns.
It should be noted that the two multiple regression
analyses were also carried out with both dependent variables
converted
to their
logarithmic
and squared counterparts in an attempt to determine whether
a non-linear relationship better fit the research models. The
pattern of results was essentially the same and there was
less than a 1% change in percentage
of variance accounted for by either model, so the results
are presented here using the more familiar approach.
RESULTS
Univariate Analyses
The results of the set of t-tests
are shown in Table 3, which
is sorted according to the t statistic value for semesters
elapsed. Eighteen
of the predictor variables showed significant differences
with mean semesters
elapsed; participation in the Academic Forgiveness
program, enrollment in the UNIV 131 class, graduation in the College
of Technology,
and participation in the Student Support Services program
were highly
significantly related
to decreased semesters elapsed, while students being
defined as
dependent for financial aid purposes, participation
in the Honors, Postsecondary
Enrollment Options, and Summer Success Challenge programs,
having financial aid record data available, and being
female were highly
significantly
related
to increased semesters elapsed. Twenty-nine of
the predictor variables showed significant differences
with mean semesters enrolled; graduation
in the College of Technology, participation in the
Academic Forgiveness program, participation in the
Student Support
Services program, enrollment
in the MATH 095, ENG 110, and UNIV 100 classes were
highly significantly related to decreased semesters
enrolled,
while students being defined as
dependent for financial aid purposes, graduation with
honors, being female, receiving financial aid, having
financial aid record data available, participation
in the Postsecondary Enrollment Options programs,
participation in the Honors program, graduation in
the College of Health
and Human Services,
and graduation in the social sciences were highly significantly
related to increased semesters enrolled.
The
results of the correlation analyses appear in Table
4, which is sorted according to the size of the
correlations with semesters
elapsed. Most
of the continuous predictor variables were significantly
correlated with time-to-degree, both in terms of semesters
elapsed prior
to degree attainment
and semesters enrolled prior to degree attainment. Greater
average student credit hours earned per semester, greater
high school grade point average, higher grade
point average
at end of the
freshman year, higher grade point average at graduation,
and higher grade point
average in general education classes were highly significantly
correlated with decreased time-to-degree, while greater
number of fall, spring,
and summer semesters enrolled, greater total student
credit hours earned, greater
number of quarters employed off-campus, greater number
of classes failed and repeated, and greater number
of cooperative education
classes completed
were highly significantly correlated with increased
time-to-degree. Greater
number of student credit hours transferred was significantly
correlated with increased average semesters elapsed,
but decreased
average semesters
enrolled.
Multivariate Analyses
The results of the regression
analysis with semesters elapsed prior to degree attainment as
the dependent variable
are shown in Table
5. The
regression model explained 48% of the variance
in total semesters elapsed to degree attainment. The
significant predictors with the largest effect
sizes included participation in the Summer Success
Challenge
program,
average student credit hours earned per semester,
participation in the President’s Leadership
Academy (related to decreased time-to-degree attainment),
student credit hours earned
at the time of graduation, and
students being defined as dependent for financial
aid purposes (related to increased time-to-degree
attainment).
The results of the regression analysis
with semesters enrolled prior to degree
attainment as the dependent
variable are
shown in Table
6. The
regression model explained 50% of the variance
in semesters enrolled to degree attainment. The
significant predictors with the largest effect
sizes included student
credit hours
transferred,
graduation in
the arts
disciplines, students being defined as dependent
for financial aid purposes, need-based loan dollars
received,
students enrolling
in the College Reading
and Learning Skills (EDCI 100) class (related to
decreased time-to-degree attainment), the number
of cooperative
education classes completed, student
credit hours earned at graduation, the number of
classes repeated, participation in the Art Freshman
Interest
Groups program,
participation in the Post
Secondary Enrollment Options program, participation
in the Honors program, graduation from the College
of Technology,
and students receipt of financial
aid (related to increased time-to-degree attainment).
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Some
of the findings held few surprises; they support the literature
on time-to-degree and
remain the
same from
the Spring 2000
study. Average
student credit hours completed per semester and
student credit hours transferred (through activities
such as AP, CLEP, simultaneous high school and
college
enrollment, and transient enrollment at other institutions)
continued to be related to decreased time-to-degree,
while total student credit hours
earned, number of cooperative education classes
completed, and number of classes repeated continued
to be related to increased time-to-degree. Interestingly,
there is only minimal correspondence between this
study’s
findings and the major reasons cited by respondents
to the 2002-2003
BGSU Graduating Senior Questionnaire for extending their enrollment
beyond four years: changing majors (33%), working
while enrolled
(24%), lack of class availability
(19%), involvement in cooperative education and
internships (17%).
Some of the current findings
are different from those of the earlier study. Enrollment
in the College Reading and Learning Skills (EDCI
100) class, which is significantly related to decreased
to time-to-degree in the current study, was not
a
significant predictor earlier. Graduating
in the arts disciplines, which is significantly
related to decreased semesters enrolled prior to
degree attainment in the current study, was related
to increased time-to-degree
in the Spring 2000 study, but showed a much weaker
effect. Students
being defined as dependent for financial aid purposes,
which is significantly related to increased semesters
elapsed prior to degree attainment in the
current study, was significantly related to decreased
time-to-degree in the earlier study. Dollar
volume of need-based loans received, which is significantly
related to decreased semesters enrolled prior to
degree
attainment in the current study, was significantly
related to increased semesters enrolled in the
Spring 2000 study, but showed a much weaker effect. Many
of the significant predictors of time-to-degree
in the literature cited earlier were not found
to be significant
in the current
study based upon
the multiple regression results, but none of the
significant results contradicted those of the other
published studies.
Predictors that were unavailable in the Spring 2000 study
that were found to be significant in the current study were
participation in the Summer Success Challenge tuition discount
program, and participation in three special programs for
first year students: the President’s Leadership Academy,
the Arts Freshman Interest Groups, and the Honors Program. It
should be noted that the Arts Freshman Interest Groups has
been discontinued and that both it and the President’s
Leadership Academy have a very small number of participants
(51 and 16 students among 2002-2003 graduates, respectively). Other
predictors of time-to-degree that were not available previously,
including participation in other learning communities and
first year programs and in intercollegiate athletics, and
employment on- and off-campus, were found to have very weak
effects that were not significant in the multiple regression
analyses in the current study.
Before proceeding with a discussion
of the implications of the findings, mention of the limitations
of the study are
in order. The study was designed to examine the impact
of a number of factors on time to degree attainment for a
group of students who did in fact graduate. It does
not, by design, address issues related to students who did
not graduate. Data on parents’ educational levels
(gained from the BGSU First Year Student Questionnaire) were
not available for the majority of students in the study. Some
of the learning communities and first year programs were
new at the time that students in the study could have participated
in them; it is possible that effects on time-to-degree for
freshmen participating in such programs this year, for example,
could perhaps be different. Finally, it is certainly
true that not all factors (e.g., motivation, time management
skills) that could potentially significantly predict time-to-degree
are included in the study.
One obvious implication of the
study is that Ohio’s
Success Challenge program has been successful in decreasing
time-to-degree at BGSU as evidenced by substantially decreased
median time-to-degree for 2002-2003 bachelor’s degree
graduates. A recent report produced by the Provost’s
Office indicates that Success Challenge funds have been used
in a wide variety of ways to facilitate student success,
including funding for learning communities and first year
programs, enhancement of services in the Office of Student
Financial Aid, funding for the Honors Program, expansion
of services in Academic Enhancement, enhancements of assessment
of student learning, redesign of General Education classes,
curricular redesign to facilitate four-year degree completion,
funding for the Bowling Green Experience, support for student
travel, and expanded research opportunities for undergraduate
students. The Summer Success Challenge tuition discount
has also clearly facilitated timely graduation at BGSU.
Participation
in the President’s Leadership Academy,
enrollment in the College Reading and Learning Skills (EDCI
100) class, and graduation in the arts disciplines facilitated
more timely degree attainment in the current study. It
would be worthwhile to follow up with more research that
explores the uniqueness of these educational environments
for promoting decreased time-to-degree.
Since students’ completion
of a greater number of credit hours per term remains a significant
predictor of decreased
time-to-degree, it is useful to repeat some of the implications
related to this finding that were noted in the earlier study. As
Volkwein and Lorang (1996) note, many baccalaureate programs
require a student credit hour load of 16-17 or greater per
semester for students to graduate in four years without enrolling
in summer (this also excludes the need to take remedial or
elective classes, change majors, etc.). Yet campus
policies allow students to be considered as “full-time” for
registration, fee payment, financial aid (federal and state
policies come in to play here as well), and other purposes
if they enroll with just 12 semester credit hours per term. While
a lighter class load may be in the best academic or personal
interest of some students, a systematic approach to academic
advising that encourages students to take higher class loads
when warranted would significantly decrease time to degree
attainment for most students. Advising interventions
may also help to decrease the number of failed, dropped,
or repeated classes.
As was the case in the Spring 2000 study, the fact that enrollment
in cooperative education classes had a relatively strong
effect upon increased time-to-degree illustrates the important
caveat that timely degree completion is not all that matters
in terms of college student outcomes. Both analytical
and student self-report evidence supports the fact that enrollment
in cooperative education classes, involvement in internships,
etc., while extending time-to-degree, significantly improves
student learning and skill development, affective outcomes,
career prospects, and the like. Significantly reducing
time-to-degree could perhaps demand a trade-off against other
long-term (and maybe more important) outcomes. As is
often the case in higher education policy and practice, and
as has been observed by many, the actions we take and the
outcomes we hope to facilitate are ultimately a function
of our values.
The Office of Institutional Research offers
several following recommendations based upon the results
of this study. First,
the University should continue and expand where possible
the efforts funded through the Success Challenge program
to decrease time-to-degree. Second, although average
time-to-degree has decreased since four years ago, it remains
important for academic advisors to encourage students, when
appropriate, to take full (i.e., 15 or 16 credit hours per
semester) class loads. Finally, barriers to timely
degree attainment should continue to be discussed by a variety
of persons within the University. With these thoughts
in mind, it is recommended that the University’s Undergraduate
Council review the 122 credit hour graduation requirement
with an eye towards possibly returning it to the earlier
120 hour level.
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