Grading on time matters

As students, we may often feel helpless to control the rising cost of college. Most students do not sit at the table when tuition rates are set, so our avenues of influence are limited. But we have an opportunity to directly affect the cost of a degree at IU.

On-time graduation rates at Indiana colleges are staggeringly low. Only one-third of students at public four-year universities will graduate on time. At public two-year colleges, six out of 100 students will complete on time.

At IU, the on-time graduation rate is around 50 percent, but disaggregation reveals startling disparities. While 53 percent of white students graduate in four years, 40 percent of Hispanic students and 19 percent of black students graduate on time. Furthermore, less than one-third of Pell grant recipients at IU will graduate in four years.

These numbers matter. Graduating on time is cheaper than not. The estimated cost of an additional year of schooling to a student is $50,000 in tuition, fees, and lost potential income. Institutions and the state bear significant costs for extra
semesters as well, in additional operating costs and financial aid awards.

For working students, attending part-time or taking fewer credit hours may be the best option. However, as students take additional semesters and hit state and federal financial aid limits, their probability of completing their degree declines. Students who invest in their education but do not receive a diploma bear the greatest loss. Unfortunately, this is happening to far too many of our peers.

We can control college costs by changing our campus culture to be one that values on-time completion. Taking 15 credits per semester lowers the cost per credit hour for students. It also enables a student to graduate in four years, lowering the cost per degree both on a personal and institutional level.

We may not set tuition rates or investment amounts, be we can make higher education dollars more productive by shortening our time to graduation.

­Hannah Rozow
hrozow@indiana.edu