Colleges offer four-year graduation guarantees

Parents Forum
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<p>"Now that the average college freshman takes more than five and a half years to graduate, a growing number of colleges are trying to entice students with guarantees that they will finish in four years -- or the extra tuition will be free."</p>

<p>Very specific limitations apply--like declaring a major in freshman year and not changing it. The restrictions will exclude most 'typical' college students. </p>

<p>Colleges</a> offer four-year graduation guarantees - Mar. 5, 2013</p>

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<p>Several California State Universities offer four year graduation pledges, with typical restrictions (follow your major’s course plan, not change majors (or not after some small number of semesters or quarters), not need remedial course work, etc.), even though their actual four year graduation rates are very low (like under 20%). The benefit is that the student gets priority registration in courses needed to graduate in four years and/or tuition-free extra semester or quarter if the student cannot graduate on time due to course unavailability.</p>

<p>Bakersfield
Fresno
Pomona
San Bernardino
San Marcos
Stanislaus</p>

<p>Long Beach and Northridge apparently had four year graduation pledge programs in the 1990s.</p>

<p>Most of these CSUs are not highly selective, and it is likely that many of their students need remedial courses or would struggle with full course loads averaging 15 credit units per semester or quarter (thus not being able to follow their majors’ course plans).</p>

<p>Some other schools like Minnesota and Iowa State have four year graduation pledges.</p>

<p>A previous thread on this topic: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1332448-colleges-four-year-guarantees-their-actual-four-year-graduation-rates.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1332448-colleges-four-year-guarantees-their-actual-four-year-graduation-rates.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>It sounds like a marketing gimmick to me.</p>

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<p>It can provide some assurance to students and parents who fear the “cannot get into the full classes needed to graduate on time” problem, if the student is one who can handle a full course load and does not need remedial courses.</p>

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<p>That is what I was thinking. One student at a large state U once complained on this board that every single time, course registration was by alphabetical order by grade. That is really hard to believe, but if true, it would seem that the As would graduate in 4 years and the Zs would graduate in 7.</p>

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<p>It could also be that the “cannot get into the full classes needed to graduate on time” problem is not really as much of a problem at the school as people claim it is, so having the four year graduation pledge is basically a way of saying that graduating late is your own fault (needing remedial courses, failing courses, not following your major’s course plan, refusing to take the required course at 8:00, etc.), not the school’s fault.</p>

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<p>I wonder if the situation has become even worse with the advent of Rate My Professor type sites. When the only open prof has consistent “horrible! do not take her!” ratings, does the student take her anyway, to stay on schedule? Back in the day, we were ignorant of most of profs’ reps.</p>

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My thoughts exactly!</p>

<p>Many students would not be willing to take any course available to satisfy a specific requirement. Physics-for-physics-majors when physics-for-poets fills up? Arabic in lieu of Spanish? Work-intensive small seminar instead of big lecture with multiple-choice exams? Calc 1 when it’s taught by an incomprehensible lecturer?</p>

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<p>I’d say that it would drive grade inflation even further or, if implemented by a commuter school, reduce 4-year graduation rate…</p>

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<p>Really? In my dark ages 30 years ago, we had what were known as CTECs - Course Teacher and Evaluation something-or-others - which were ratings and evaluations of professors and classes. They were printed in hard copy books, as opposed to today when they are available online, and the response rate is likely higher today since they can be filled out online instead of paper and pencil, but same concept – we knew which professors had good ratings and so forth. Was that unusual?</p>

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<p>Pizzagirl, I am thinking that you may have gone to school in the same state as I did, but I cetainly wasn’t aware of CTECs. Of course, I was in a very small major that required 89 hours, and there was very little choice of profs or sections anyway. Maybe it existed and I was oblivious.</p>

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<p>At the Cal States, in particular, I think there’s a risk of ending up with a random collection of hodge podge classes even in your major. I was talking to the daughter of a friend last weekend who went to a Cal State who was taking any classes she could get to fulfill her major requirements and she ended up taking a truly random collection of specialized classes and hasn’t covered topics that I’d view as essential to a minimum level of education in the field. She will be graduating in four years, though.</p>

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<p>Re: #12</p>

<p>Hmmm, that may depend on the major. Engineering majors at Pomona seem to have highly specified course lists, with only limited amounts in-major electives.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.csupomona.edu/~engineering/current/currsheets/index.htm[/url]”>http://www.csupomona.edu/~engineering/current/currsheets/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;