The five-year four-year degree

Mariah Prowoznik is waitressing this summer near her Grand Rapids home to help pay for her fifth year at Central Michigan University. Only one in five CMU students earns a bachelor’s degree in four years. The rate is even lower at some other public universities. (photo by Sam Zomer)

Mariah Prowoznik remembers her orientation as a freshman at Central Michigan University four years ago. “There was a campus tour and lunch in the cafeteria,” said the Grand Rapids native. “Then there was a meeting where they told us how many credits we needed to graduate.”

One thing that wasn’t mentioned to the new freshman were the numbers that would play a large and expensive role in students’ impending college careers:

One in five.

That, Prowoznik would find out later, was the ratio of new freshmen at CMU who would earn a bachelor’s degree in the traditional four years.

“It’s frustrating,” said Prowoznik. “I double checked. I triple checked. Everyone kept telling me that I was on the right track. It wasn’t until I already had more than half of my requirements finished that the idea of a fifth year was even mentioned.”

Prowoznik won’t graduate until the spring of 2015. When she crosses the stage to get her degree, Prowoznik and her parents will have spent about $12,000 more than they would have if she’d graduated in four years.

“Between my tuition and the cost of another apartment lease,” Prowoznik said, “this extra year is going to really put a drain on things.”

Only about 20 percent of first-time freshmen enrolling at CMU earn a four-year degree in four years. The rate is even worse at some other Michigan public universities. At Lake Superior State and Oakland University, about one in six students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years; at Eastern Michigan University, it’s one in eight; Wayne State, one in 10; Saginaw Valley State, one in 11.

Twelve of Michigan’s 15 public universities have four-year graduation rates below the national average of 31 percent. (Only the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University are at or above U.S. norm). Those below-average four-year grad rates mean almost 3,000 Michigan students will spend more time on campus than their peers at public universities across the country, at a cost to them and their parents of about $30 million, or roughly 10 grand per kid.

Most of Michigan’s private universities also lag behind their peers nationally. Only four private colleges (Kalamazoo, Hope, Calvin and Albion) of 39 in the state have four-year graduation rates above the national private school rate of 52 percent.

Despite an emphasis on increasing college attainment in Michigan, four-year graduation rates have remained stubbornly low for decades, driving up student loan debt, emptying parents’ bank accounts, and putting a drag on the state economy.

“Should we accept a 20 percent grad rate over four years?” asked Lynn Blue, vice provost and dean of academic services and information technology at Grand Valley State University. “Heck no. Not as a parent or a taxpayer.”

More semesters. More loans

Americans owe more than $1.2 trillion for college. Student loan debt is now greater than the total Americans owe on credit cards and auto loans.

President Obama announced recently an extension of a program to cap monthly student loan payments, and Congress is wrestling with the issue.

The dirty secret of the student loan debt crisis is that the problem would be diminished significantly if more students earned degrees on time. That’s particularly true in Michigan, where most public universities have below-average four-year graduation rate and an above-average student debt load.

Those extra semesters on campus run up a hefty tab, in everything from tuition and books, to delayed entry in the workforce.

Tuition alone for a fifth year at a public university runs from $8,423 at Saginaw Valley State University to $14,812 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Tack on housing, food and books, and the cost can double.

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Four-year degree in six years

A lot of college students eventually get a degree.

At CMU, for example, while roughly 20 percent of incoming, first-time freshmen graduate in four years, an additional 37 percent of that original freshman class graduates within six years, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. At Northern Michigan University, 18 percent get a bachelor’s degree in four years, and an additional 26 percent within six years; at Western, it’s 24 percent in four years, and an additional 32 percent within six. (see chart above)

Even at six years, 11 of the state’s 15 universities have graduation rates below the national six-year grad rate of 59 percent.

“I would love that we get back to the 4-year degree, simply because you’re talking about a cost savings to everyone,” said Charlie Nutt, executive director of the National Academic Advising Association, a professional development organization for college advisors. “It’s a win-win across the board. It’s a cost-saver for taxpayers, universities and their students and families.”

Nutt cites the ability of universities to enroll larger numbers of freshman if fewer students are taking five or six years to graduate.

“If 80 percent are taking six years, you’re only able to bring in a certain number of freshman each year,” Nutt said. “From a financial standpoint, I see it as a problem. I’d like to see us to get a four-year mindset.”

Improving graduation rates is now a factor in the funding formula employed by state lawmakers for public universities. “It’s a concern,” admits Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, who is 46. “When I grew up, the normal was four years.”

Today, “most students work their way through college and paying the bills is difficult,” Schuitmaker said. “Five or six years is not unexpected.”

Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, said he doesn’t believe there is incentive for graduates to want to finish earlier.

“In the middle of a recession, the incentive to finish in a hurry isn’t really there,” he said. “Especially if students can keep their financial aid, there’s no reason to be in a big hurry.”

Extra semesters are the most costly

But for many students, those extra semesters are the most costly of their academic careers. Institutional merit aid typically ends after eight semesters, leaving “super seniors” with sticker shock, says Brandy Johnson, executive director of the Michigan College Access Network.

“In institutional grants, a disproportionate amount of aid is given to students in their first and second year because it’s a recruitment strategy,” Johnson said. “Reflective of this, the borrowing limits from the federal government increase in the third and fourth year … and some students (must) take out the max loans.”

The rate of college students taking out federal student loans jumps 20 percent among those in their fifth year, and students borrowing more than $5,900 in one year jumps 18 percent, according to NCES.

There’s a large, less visible cost to the state, too, says Mitch Bean, of Great Lakes Economic Consulting and former director of the Michigan House Fiscal Agency.

Low four-year graduation rates do not have a direct impact on taxpayers, because state funding for public universities isn’t tied to enrollment. But those extra years in the dorms do put a drag on the state economy.

“The more educated your workforce, the more productive your economy,” Bean said. “If students are graduating in an average of five years instead of four, that means a lot fewer college grads. That extra year they’re out of the workforce, they’re not productively employed and not paying taxes.”

More student loans also mean larger monthly payments when they graduate. That means college grads are using paychecks for student loans rather than car loans or mortgages, Bean said.

Addressing the problem

There is no simple answer as to why many Michigan’s public university students take longer to graduate with a traditional bachelor’s degree than public university students in other states.

Rising tuition has changed the face of the average college student, particularly in public universities, said Nutt, of the national advisors group.

“In some of the state institutions in Michigan, students whose sole responsibility is being a student doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “Some are part-time students. Some are full-time. With a student working 30-40 hours in order to take a full load, it is pretty much impossible to make it out in four years.”

But according to Johnson, of the College Access Network, staying in school longer while working actually costs students more than borrowing money and graduating on time.

“The evidence is clear and compelling that it’s better to take on debt now and accumulate credits more quickly, than work at a slower pace and work your way through,” Johnson said. “Some states have implemented a policy of strong encouragement for students to take 15 credits per semester so they can graduate on time. But at universities, 12 (credit hours) is the number to be considered eligible as a full-time student.”

Fifteen credit hours per semester gives a student 120 credit hours (often the bar for a four-year undergraduate degree) in eight semesters; at 12 credit hours, it takes 10 semesters to reach 120.
What can be done?

One of the keys to increasing on-time graduation rates lies within academic advising.

“All of our research shows that students who have a relationship with a university (academic advisor) are more successful than those who don’t,” Nutt said. “By connecting with advisers or faculty, that student automatically is more successful from day one.”

Greater academic success naturally leads to higher graduation rates, and ultimately lower cost for students.

Grand Valley State has increased four-year graduation rates by paying students to earn degrees on time, and promoting an online system that keeps tabs on student progress.

But more progress needs to be made. “All projections show that the country is going to have a huge shortage of graduates as the economy bounces back,” said Callan, of the National Center for Public Policy and Education. “It’s hard to even get in the queue for a decent job if you don’t have a degree beyond high school. There’s an economic cost to that.”

For Nutt, the time for change is now.

“The campus has to make a commitment that we’re going to send the same message to all students – to help and provide assistance to allow students to graduate in a timely manner,” Nutt said.

As for CMU student Prowoznik, her college pathway has already been set – and for her, that means one more year before she can graduate with her bachelor’s degree.

“Something has to be done so more students don’t end up in the same situation,” she said.

Kyle Kaminski is a 2014 graduate of Central Michigan University, where this article was originally written for a journalism class in which Bridge Senior Writer Ron French was a guest advisor. French contributed to this report.