As institutions strive to raise graduation rates and improve service to their students, they are looking for new and innovative ways to attain these goals. At AACRAO’s SEM Conference, presenters Kevin Pollock of St. Clair County Community College and Robert Strazzarino of College Scheduler LLC discussed the importance of graduating students on time. Their session, “Student Planning: An Important Role in Graduation Initiatives,” focused on why graduation is important, discussed the role of academic advising, and presented ideas that other institutions have implemented to “push” students towards graduation.
When a student exceeds the planned two- or four-year timeframe in which to complete the required credits, there is less chance the student will graduate—either on time or at all. Both parties face consequences when a student doesn’t graduate.
For students:
- Inherent monetary cost: Additional fees like tuition, room & board, etc. continue to accumulate.
- Loss of current skill set: In fields like computer science, for instance, the information and technology changes rapidly.
For institutions:
- Funding: Government funding for an institution can be tied to and/or impacted by graduation rates.
- Recruiting and Admissions: Prospective students look at graduation rates and this may impact their decision to attend.
What Can Your Institution Do?
Polllock emphasized the importance of Academic Advising – which he referred to as the “people” solution rather than software solution. In many instances, students have questions and don’t know where to go. He encourages students to seek help, but cautioned that faculty should not advise students on their overall schedule, but rather on their respective programs and disciplines.
Offering the right number of sections at the right time is key to helping students plan a schedule and get on the path to graduation. He also stressed the importance of degree planning. Did the student leave the advisor’s office with a plan in hand? Can the plan be easily accessed at a later time? Improving your advising and registration practices and policies may require a cultural shift on campus, but it may be necessary to help fix the problem.
Ideas to “Push” Graduation
Many institutions are taking steps to move students towards graduating students on time. Some ideas that were presented include:
- Creating a tuition structure that incurred additional fees when course requirements were not being met.
- Requiring mandatory and enforceable graduation plans based on the student having a certain number of credit units.
- Designating a specific number of credit hours by when the student needs to declare a major.
- Having students pick a meta-major to guide them through initial requirements into a program of study.
The path towards graduation can be a complex one. By addressing the needs of the students, and implementing institutional changes – through faculty, staff, and administration—schools can achieve the common goal of helping students complete their college educations.