Education Overload

By Rodney Johnson  |  December 9, 2014  |  Economy & Markets

When students don’t organize their college years very well, who ends up footing the bill?

My son, a college junior, recently registered for the spring semester. As he described his upcoming classes to me, I had one question. When will you graduate? His answer of, “In 2016, I think,” was uninspiring.

He arrived at college with 26 credits earned through Advanced Placement classes in high school. The idea that he might not get the other 94 credits of required courses to graduate in four years, even though he has been taking 12 to 15 hours per semester, put me on edge. But it’s not entirely his fault.

The university has no vested interest in him graduating on time since it earns hefty fees and tuition as long as he is on campus. Besides, he’s an out-of-state student, so he pays more than locals.

If he’s paying more and staying longer, what’s not to love?

According to a study released by the non-profit Complete College America (CCA), 19% of students at non-flagship public universities complete a bachelor’s degree in four years, whereas at flagship public universities the percentage is still an appalling 36%. CCA sites a number of reasons why this might be so, including too many choices presented to students and the lack of transferability of credits when students switch universities.

These sound like valid points, but from personal experience, I know of another reason — the schools don’t set out programs and paths that ensure students are tracking for a four-year stay.

... continue reading here:
http://economyandmarkets.com/purchasing-power/education/education-overload/

More Reading:
http://economyandmarkets.com/category/purchasing-power/education/

http://economyandmarkets.com/purchasing-power/education/the-3-rs-spell-inequality/

http://economyandmarkets.com/purchasing-power/demographic-trends/promising-demographic-trends/

http://economyandmarkets.com/economy/business-cycle/economic-kung-fu/