<p>"In an effort to improve its 4-year graduation rate, the University of Texas at Austin has announced that it plans on testing a program that will provide a bit of student loan forgiveness to a handful of students if they can avoid falling into the perpetual student trap." ...</p>
<p>College</a> To Dangle Financial Incentive To Students Who Graduate On Time ? The Consumerist</p>
<p>More: Graduating</a> in 4 years may help UT students save on loans - Houston Chronicle</p>
<p>Looks like this is in addition to existing tuition rebates for Texas residents graduating without attempting too many credit units: [Tuition</a> Rebates : Tuition Dollars & Sense](<a href=“Cost & Tuition Rates - Texas One Stop - University of Texas at Austin”>Cost & Tuition Rates - Texas One Stop - University of Texas at Austin) and <a href=“http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=447[/url]”>College For All Texans: $1,000 Tuition Rebate for Certain Undergraduates;
<p>Other public universities have either penalties or incentives. For example, credit unit or semester/quarter count limitations are common in California public universities. Some which have low on-time graduation rates have four year graduation pledges that give priority registration as an incentive to students who agree to follow their majors’ course plans and not need remedial courses (e.g. CSUs in Pomona, Fresno, and Stanislaus, for example). Minnesota also has such a program. Obviously, public universities want students to graduate quickly, because extra time means extra subsidy (of in-state tuition). They may be generous with AP credit units for this reason (even if the academic departments are less generous with subject credit and placement).</p>
<p>In private universities, high tuition, plus perhaps the ending of financial aid or scholarships, presumably provides a strong incentive to avoid needing extra semesters. Of course, the private universities would not mind if a student stays and is able to pay for an extra semester.</p>
<p>At D2’s University, after a certain number of hours over those required by your degree plan, they begin charging you graduate rates.</p>
<p>In Texas:</p>
<p>“Students who started Fall 2006 and thereafter and attempt* 30 or more semester credit hours beyond the hours required to complete their degree could be charge tuition not exceeding out-of-state tuition rates for these excess hours. Students who have not selected a major are considered, by state law, to have degree requirements of 120 hours.”</p>
<p>This includes dual, running start, transfer hours, etc.</p>
<p>This could really discourage those not REQUIRED to have a minor from having one, and also could really discourage the freshman year of trying several different things just to explore and see what you like.</p>
<p>It is not surprising to see penalties for exceeding some maximum number of semesters or credits attempted.</p>
<p>Berkeley blocks registration beyond semester or credit unit limits (which depend on the division; the largest division has a limit of 130 credit units if you are beyond the eighth semester, or fourth semester for junior transfers) if you do not get special permission. For example: [Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Unit Ceiling](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html)</p>
<p>San Jose State disallows “high unit seniors” from registering for any courses other than the minimum needed to graduate as quickly as possible: [url=<a href=“http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/highunitseniors/]San”>http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/highunitseniors/]San</a> Jos</p>
<p>My sister did not get the rebate when she graduated in four years, because she had AP and dual enrollment credit. She knew people that took five years to graduate, but were below the credit limit, so go the rebate, yet she did not. She started a campaign to change that rule, but nothing came of it at the time.</p>
<p>Interesting. My son’s public u is the one putting road blocks into their students’ ways to graduate on time.</p>
<p>What university, and what specific road blocks?</p>
<p>UVa has an 8 semester rule with great exception. Students are expected to utilize summer terms if they need additional time to make up a class to stay in sequence, or complete a minor/double major.</p>
<p>There already exists a financial incentive to graduate on time; it’s called: not having to pay another year of tuition.</p>
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<p>True, but when the tuition is subsidized as it is for in-state residents at state universities, the financial incentive is not as strong as it is when one would have to pay more. Conversely, the school has much more motivation to offer on-time graduation incentives if each additional semester or credit taken causes more subsidy to be spent on the student.</p>
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How does this work with respect to AP credit?</p>
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<p>For the tuition rebate, [College</a> For All Texans: $1,000 Tuition Rebate for Certain Undergraduates](<a href=“http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=447]College”>College For All Texans: $1,000 Tuition Rebate for Certain Undergraduates) says:</p>
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<p>It would not be surprising if something similar applied to the +30 credit hour limit of in-state tuition.</p>
<p>Indiana University announced a similar plan today: <a href=“http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121010/BETTERLIFE03/310100119/Indiana-University-plans-tuition-freeze-upperclassmen-graduation-track?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p[/url]”>http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121010/BETTERLIFE03/310100119/Indiana-University-plans-tuition-freeze-upperclassmen-graduation-track?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p</a></p>
<p>They will freeze tuition rates for upperclassmen who are on track to graduate. I won’t mind this because IU Class of 2015 Son has a “full tuition” scholarship that was set at 9K before his freshman year and has covered less of his tuition each year.</p>
<p>I am curious about how colleges justify these policies with their mission of intellectual curiosity and academic freedom. Giving incentives to one group (early graduates) necessarily punishes all other groups. They are discouraging students from taking full advantage of the school’s resources.</p>
<p>It seems that universities are simply continuing their march down the path of becoming trades schools.</p>
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<p>Interesting how you think graduating in 4 years is “early”. In answer to your question, they justify it by allowing more students to get a chance at a college education.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand these programs… my financial incentive for graduating in 4 years was not wanting to have to pay 25k for an additional year… it surprises me anyone would think that more incentive would make a difference if that alone isn’t enough for most people.</p>
<p>@mitchklong - Color me cynical, but I believe the justification has more to do with maximizing revenue as opposed to offering opportunity. I would argue that public colleges are less concerned with the quality of their offering and focus instead on increasing tuition in creative ways that do not show up in the headlines.</p>
<p>Your response also only addresses half of the equation: you comment on what is gained but not on what is lost. It seems reasonable to assume that the “more students” you refer to are lower quality than those already enrolled. Thus, the colleges are sacrificing an enhanced environment for those who would most benefit in order to allow access to more students of a lesser ability. Our economy certainly needs more college-educated workers, but not at the expense of the development of our best and brightest.</p>
<p>rmldad, where did you get this: “…lower quality than those already enrolled”?</p>
<p>I think that part of the problem is that resources in financial aid are being extended to 5th year students that may have been finished in 4 years if they had “stuck to the plan” thereby freeing up resources for new students. Not lesser in quality.</p>
<p>If a hypothetical college succeeds in greatly reducing its fifth-year seniors and thus enrolls a freshman class of 12,000 students instead of its previous 10,000, then will these 2,000 new students be of the same quality as the other 10,000? </p>
<p>My assumption is that they are a lesser quality, whether compared to the class as a whole, or even compared just to the fifth-year seniors that they replaced. If they were of the same quality, then why were they rejected when considered for the smaller pool? They might well be similar in credentials, but there was something in their applications that cause the adcoms to reject them, but accept students who would end up being fifth-years.</p>