By Jamie Kania
With an increase in student loan interest rates and tuition hikes, it is getting more difficult for students and their parents to afford a college education; so why are students taking longer than four years to graduate?
In the latest study done by the Office of Institutional Research at Buffalo State College, of the 1,220 freshmen who enrolled in 1998, only 172 of the students completed the program in four years. It took six years for 40.8 percent of those students to graduate from a four year program. http://www.buffalostate.edu/offices/instrsch/
The same study done in 1997 had similar results. It took 41.2 percent of students six years to graduate from a four year program. According to these statistics, this seems to be growing trend and many are questioning why. http://www.buffalostate.edu/offices/instrsch/enrollment/cds/cds2004_05.pdf
Senior adviser Marie Ferraro can provide some answers and some possible solutions.
“One of the premises of a liberal arts education is to facilitate the personal, educational and social growth of the student, Ferraro said. “Therefore, the student is responsible for satisfying the degree requirements.”
She said the main reasons students don’t graduate in four years are:
- leave of absences
- only taking 12 credit hours a semester
- lack of awareness of college-wide requirements
- lack of or no communication with adviser
- students registering for classes they don’t need
Many students take a leave of absence and don’t take the initiative to make up the missed credit hours within a time frame that facilitates graduation in four years. BSC offers summer classes and inter semester classes that can help students catch up, she said.
If students want to graduate in four years, they should be registered for a minimum of 15 credit hours per semester. Some are only taking 12 credit hours a semester because they want to be comfortable, Ferraro said. Some students say they can’t handle more than 12 credit hours a semester, but there are many tutorial support services available to help them. http://www.buffalostate.edu/academicsupport/x507.xml
Students also blame their delayed graduation on classes not being offered and no or poor advisement. This may very well be the case in some instances but ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the college-wide requirements and initiate contact with their adviser, Ferraro said.
BSC senior John Turnwall Jr. should have graduated in 2004 and although he takes much of the responsibility for not graduating on time, he feels that his lack of advisement also played a major role in the delay.
Students who feel that their adviser isn’t aware of their needs should know the chain of command for advisement. Students can go to the chair person of the department, the assistant dean or the dean for further assistance, Ferraro said.
“If I would have known who else I could’ve gone to for advisement, I think that I would’ve had a better chance of graduating in four years,” Turnwall said.
For students who feel they can’t get the classes they need, Ferraro suggests taking classes when the classes are available, not when they are convenient for the student or the student’s work schedule. If you want a degree in four years, you need to sacrifice and be flexible, Ferraro said.
Turnwall validated Ferraro’s statement and said ultimately, he has no one to blame but himself for not graduating on time.
“My priorities are to make money, work and pay my bills right now. I would rather go to work than class,” Turnwall said. “The way I look at it is school is always going to be here, my youth isn’t.”
There are many issues that prevent students from graduating in four years but working closely with an adviser can alleviate many of these issues, Ferraro said. To ensure graduation in four years, students need to take the initiative to keep in close contact with their advisers and most importantly take responsibility and know what is required of them.
For more information Contact Marie Ferraro at ferrarmm@buffalostate.edu
Academic advisement center at advise@buffalostate.edu
Visit the academic advisement center in South Wing 100 http://www.buffalostate.edu/tour/
Or call the academic advisement center (716) 878-5223
Jamie Kania can be reached at kanijm00@buffalostate.edu
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