A new study from NerdWallet found that taking six years to complete a bachelor’s degree
could cost a student as much as $300,000 in additional tuition costs, loan
interest, and lost income and retirement savings. That’s a problem since the National
Center for Education Statistics reported that just 40% of college students
graduate in four years.
One solution being tested is making the fifth year free
for students who are unable to finish in four. Such programs normally come with
strict eligibility requirements, such as working with an academic advisor,
taking a full course load each semester, and passing all classes, but it is a way
to help reduce anxiety about college costs, according to Tom Kazee, president
of the University of Evansville, Evansville, IN.
Evansville launched a fifth-year-free program this
fall, but is not alone in trying the solution.
The University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, provides students with a free fifth
year when they are pursuing academic interests outside of their majors, while
Clark University, Worcester, MA, offers
some undergrads a fifth year for free to complete both a bachelor’s and
master’s degree. In another approach, Howard
University, Washington, D.C., offers a 50% rebate off the final semester of
tuition to students who finish early or on time.
“It’s
increasingly clear that colleges worry about getting students to finish on
time,” Ben Miller, senior director of postsecondary education at the Center for
American Progress, told NBC News.
“You see a lot of different approaches to that.”
