Four years is now no longer enough time to complete college, with degrees now taking a new standard length of five to six years. Biola’s President’s Administrative Council has acknowledged this changing situation, and says they are seeking to address these concerns.

According to economists from the University of Michigan and Cornell University, over the last few decades, a decreasing percentage of college students have been graduating within the standard four years. While 58 percent of students who graduated high school in 1972 were able to complete their degree in four years, 44 percent of students who graduated in 1992 finished on time, and this percentage continues to decline. According to National Center for Education Statistics, Biola University had an undergraduate enrollment of 3,935 in fall 2009, and nine percent of those undergraduates were above the age of 25. Only 51 percent of students who entered Biola in the fall of 2003 graduated within four years, and 71 percent graduated in six years.

University officials seek to help students graduate on time

At a recent student media press conference, President Barry Corey spoke of administrative efforts to assist students in finishing their degrees on time or early.
“We have ways that we can be more efficient, but we want to do it in ways that are in service to our students,” Corey said. “That’s what we’ve be spending time talking about among ourselves, with our board and with some of these feasibility committees.”

Students, such as super senior Aaron Kim, say from personal experience that factors such as major changes, financial difficulties, class scheduling and unit loads contribute to an increasing number of students graduating late.

“I changed my major in the second semester of my sophomore year from business to Bible,” Kim said. “Overall, it is kind of negative because you want to finish as soon as possible, but I also never took a semester with 18 units. I always took around 16, which was really nice.”

Why college time is being extended

A 1995 study done by researchers and education professors, J. Fredericks Volkwein and Wendell G. Lorgan, entitled “Characteristics of Extenders,” discovered that taking more than four years to earn a college degree was consistently associated with two factors: protecting a grade point average and taking time off school due to financial burdens. Kim said these factors also contributed to his extension into a fifth year.

“I took Greek 101 twice,” he said. “They require a ‘C’ minus or higher to go on to the second level of Greek, and I didn’t want to risk graduation. So, I retook it, got an ‘A’ the second time, but it took longer. They only offer those classes in the fall, so you have to wait a whole cycle if you want to retake a course.”

Waiting for particular course availability for required classes has also been a roadblock to many students, causing them to take longer to earn their degrees.

Biola students have more options to finish on time

“If you go to some of the UC’s right now and CSU’s they’re stretching out to five and six years, sometimes because of inabilities to get classes and a full degree of an education,” Corey said. “We have unused capacities in the summers. We have unused capacity on Fridays and Saturdays, some evenings.”

While there are unused capacities, many students said they are hesitant to sacrifice break time to take advantage of opportunities for interterm and summer courses.

“Some people who aren’t from here like to go home over the summer, and it also costs extra money that is not covered by financial aid,” Kim said. “[Summer and interterm courses] require more effort, more money, more time and sacrifices.”

Students recognize opportunities to lessen semester load

Other students, such as transfers, or students enrolled in more rigorous majors, said they take advantage of opportunities to tackle credits over interterm rather than taking full loads during the semester.

“It’s just too much to handle all in one sitting,” said sophomore nursing major Mary Beth Boyd about taking a full load of classes during the semester.

Transfer student Justin Bernsten said he needs to take courses over the summer and winter breaks to fulfill major requirements. Bernsten transferred to Biola after three years at a community college, and is now planning to double major in Christian ministries and biblical studies.

“This is the start of my fourth year, technically,” Bernsten said. “If I didn’t do the double major in biblical studies, I could probably finish in two years. Since I am doing the double major, though, I will probably be here another full three years, plus full loads during interterm and summer.”

Some students not concerned about finishing in four years

Despite the many unsaid pressures to finish school as quickly as possible, several students said they have begun to accept the new standard of taking five years to graduate.
“I’m fine with not finishing in four years,” Bernsten said. “The standard now is more like five to five and a half even, but the fact that I might be here a full six, possibly longer, depending on how things work out, that’s a little sketchy. But overall I’m not too worried about it.”

Boyd said staying for more than four years is increasingly common and even commendable.

“In general, there’s the feeling that it’s OK,” she said. “I think it’s diligent of them to decide, ‘Okay I am going to stick with it, even if it is four or five years.’”

Finances impact graduation time

For most students, there is a push to earn a degree in a timely manner due to financial burdens. Biola’s flat fee for 12-18 units for the 2010-2011 school year is $28,852, according to the Financial Aid office. Taking into consideration the percentage of tuition increase for each following year, that adds up to more than $120,000 invested into four years of education –– not including housing, books and other miscellaneous expenses. Naturally, the financial consequences for extending into a fifth or sixth year are more severe.

In the Population Studies Center Research Report that came out in April, economists wrote that reducing the financial burdens upon students while enrolled in college would help to reduce the time it takes them to complete it.

For undergraduate students, the Stafford Loan can provide up to $31,000 in the course of four years, and for independent students above the age 24, that number increases to $57,000. However, Cal Grants and Biola academic scholarships are established for four years only, except for select majors that require five year programs. Fifth and sixth year students rely heavily on private loans and outside scholarships for funding.

Students earning a degree in nursing, physics engineering and some areas of music are enrolled in five year programs in order to fulfill all required courses. Boyd, a nursing major, said many students in her major have come to terms with the extra required year.
“I think we accept it, even though it’s not something we particularly wanted to do, but it’s the degree we want,” Boyd said. “If it requires five years, then we’ll do five years. Normally, it usually takes about three to four years, but with the Bible minor at Biola, we know it’s another year on.”

According to the PAC, it is essentially the goal of the Biola administration to provide the best education possible, allowing students to complete requirements efficiently and timely.

“Our bottom line is not make it so our faculty have the teaching times that they want,” Corey said. “It is really so your education provided is good for you and works out in terms of fulfilling your required courses in the right amount of time.”