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July 3, 2007

Editorial/Our View

A Little Understanding, Please

Some students need more than the traditional time to get a degree

The Texas Legislature and the UT System are pushing for state universities to improve graduation rates. But the push doesn’t correlate with the realities UTA and other universities face nationwide — some students are finding it harder to finish degrees in the idealistic span of four years.

Nationwide, the four-year graduation completion rate is 54 percent, compiled from the National Center for Education Statistics. A 2003 Higher Education Research Institute statistic pointed out the proportion of students graduating from college in four years had declined from 40 percent to 36 percent in 10 years.

Finishing college in eight semesters is not the biggest concern students face, and we hope the Legislature and the UT System recognizes this.

The Legislature has set up programs that push students to complete their degrees in four years. The Texas B-On-Time Loan program offers more than $5,000 in financial assistance, provided students maintain satisfactory progress toward a degree. Students who finish school on time are eligible to have their loan forgiven. At UTA, about 263 students are part of the program.

Financial aid sometimes only covers the basics — tuition and books — but not other necessities such as rent and food, leaving undergraduates having to work to support themselves while in school.

Sometimes it doesn’t involve economics, and other complicated things in life also play a factor.

Many students going through the gates of higher education are set back and must take developmental courses before they can begin taking core curriculum classes. Some are still unsure of what major to declare.

The ideal scenario of taking 15 hours in the fall and spring semesters can still leave students extending their college stay. Summer classes are limited and specific courses a student might need to expedite their degree completion are put on hold because those classes aren’t offered in the summer.

We understand the importance for students to stay on track and finish school in four-years, but we also want the Legislature and the UT System to recognize there are many more factors, not just financial, that come into play, making it less than easy to reach that goal.