Students stay split about obtaining 4-year college degree

IU students know how to finish what they started.

Fifty percent of IU students finish their degree program in four years, according to a 2009 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System report. The comparison group of universities averaged 42 percent.

The National Center for Education Statistics also found the four-year graduation rates at Purdue University and Ball State University were 38 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

IU Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson said she is not surprised at the numbers. Although she said the IU graduation rate “could be better,” helping students graduate on time is a priority for the University.

IU emphasizes ensuring students can get the courses they need and that quality advising services are available, Hanson said.

She added that a new task force will study the role of advising on the Bloomington campus in an effort to improve services for all students.

Jim Sizemore, academic adviser for informatics and computing, agreed that advising is an important checkpoint for students.

He said informatics students are required to meet with their adviser every semester, which is one of the reasons most manage to finish their degrees in four years.

Sequenced courses also make understanding and keeping on the path to graduation a littler easier.

Undergraduate Adviser in the Jacobs School of Music, Erin Woodley, said many of the music courses follow a sequence, which helps students stay on track.

Woodley said 54 percent of music students graduate in four years and 89 percent graduate within five years.

Doing what she really wants to do is one of the reasons freshman Brittany Martin said she expects to be at IU for five years. She began the year as an exploratory student but has since decided to pursue a degree in nursing. However, she was unable to secure a seat in anatomy, so she will have to wait until next semester to take the required core course.

“I’m not very happy,” she said.

But one extra semester is not a big deal because she can pay it off once she has a job, she said.

Though the economy can be an issue for some, freshman Tiffany Patrick said the economy was not a factor in her plans.

Patrick plans to graduate in four years and said it “seems like it’d be a lot of unnecessary pressure to finish early.” 

Freshman Erica Ridderman agreed that the economy is not really a concern for her.
“I think if I were graduating, I would worry,” she said, but added that from a financial perspective, graduating in four years would be best because she hopes to attend graduate school.

If it’s not the economy, it can be other sources of pressure.

Sophomore Chad Koetter said his pressure comes from himself.

Graduating in four years “seems unattainable” with all the classes, Koetter said.