The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization located in Washington, D.C., recently published a report on the decline of college graduation rates. The report, "A Matter of Degrees: Improving Graduation Rates in Four-Year Colleges and Universities," found that only 37 percent of freshmen enrolled in bachelor's degree programs in 1996 graduated from school within four years.
In addition, 26 percent of students took five or six years to complete their degree, and 37 percent took longer than six years -- or did not complete their coursework at all.
The report also found, however, that Tufts has graduation rates well above the national average: 90.3 percent of Tufts students graduate within six years.
Indeed, according to the Director of Career Services Jean Papalia, declining graduation rates are not an issue at Tufts. "The vast majority of students graduate in four years," she said.
Nevertheless, some students are concerned about whether they will be able to graduate on time. Freshman Liz Vargas has considered the possibility of taking extra time to finish.
"I might not finish in four years," Vargas said. "I don't want to take five courses in a semester. I'd rather just take four courses each semester so my course load won't be overly stressful."
Freshman Bobby Gianchadani is worried that he won't be able to choose his major in time to complete all the required courses, and freshman Floor de Ruyter said that her parents expect nothing less than a completed undergraduate degree in May 2008.
"They would make me transfer to another, less-challenging university if they thought I was having difficulty," de Ruyter said.
It's a given that many parents are concerned with the financial complications of sending their children to college for more than four years. Tufts' financial aid only lasts for eight semesters, so the burden of payment for additional semesters falls on the students and their parents.
The Financial Aid office, though, keeps tabs on students to make sure they stay on track. "We review everyone's academic progress each semester," Director of Financial Aid Patricia Reilly said. "If someone is falling behind, we will suggest that they take a few summer classes."
Nonetheless, Reilly has noticed very few cases where making such suggestions is necessary. When students do start to slow down on the four-year degree track, it's usually for very serious reasons.
"They're more likely to fall behind because of a medical leave or a financial crisis than for reasons of simply not finishing on time," Reilly said. "Most students with financial aid are very aware that they need to finish in eight semesters. They know the consequences of neglecting their work"
At colleges and universities across the country, there are many issues that can prolong the time a student spends on his undergraduate degree. Inadequate family funds can make it very difficult for low-income students to finish on time.
According to the Education Trust, the six-year graduation rate of low-income students is 23 percent less than it is for high-income students. The report found that students who attempt to work full-time while in college graduate at a lower rate.
Freshman Stella Deych will be graduating the same year as her older brother Dima, who is a student at UMass-Boston -- and a full-time real estate agent.
"Last summer, he took a course and got a real estate license," Deych said. "He got real-world work experience and began to make a lot of money, so he decided to continue with it. Now, he's taking the bare minimum of courses a semester to be a full time student, and he's working more than 40 hours a week doing real estate. He plans to complete his business degree at UMass-Boston in five years."
Switching majors late in a student's college career or taking on a rigorous double major can also make it more difficult to complete a degree in eight semesters.
Maggie Griffiths, a freshman at Elon University in North Carolina, has noticed this trend at her school. "Some of the most popular academic departments are requiring an increased number of credits, so it becomes very difficult for students to fulfill all their requirements in four years," she said. "For those who are looking to either double-major or minor, spreading the workload over five years is oftentimes the best way to for them to manage what would otherwise be an impossible schedule."
The fifth and sixth years of an undergraduate education, however, are likely to cost more than the first, second, third, and fourth. College tuition has increased an exorbitant amount over the past 25 years and many students worry about the increased cost they will incur by choosing to take longer to complete their degree.
Emma Grady, a freshman at the University of Vermont, feels the strain of tuition costs. "Hopefully, I'll finish my degree in four years because tuition is really expensive right now for out-of-staters, and it is going up $2,000 more for next year."
Tufts' six-year graduation rate of 90.3 percent is on par with that of peer institution like Columbia University (92.1 percent), Georgetown University (93 percent), and Brown University (95.7 percent).
