The average college graduation rate in six years in the United States is 48.47 percent. From 2015 to 2016 the six-year college graduation rate saw a decline from 54.24 percent to 47.17 percent. While the drop in graduation rates is notable, you might be wondering why the college graduation rate is calculated out of six years instead of four.
The simple answer is that many students do not graduate college in four years. It is common for students to take five or six years to earn a bachelor’s degree. Only 41 percent of students receive their bachelor’s degree in four years. Out of more than 580 public universities in the United States, only 50 can say the majority of their students graduate on time.
Since many students take longer than four years to graduate the NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis measures graduation rates for bachelor’s degrees in six years and for associate’s degrees in three years.
There are many reasons students take more than four years to graduate, such as family emergencies, and injuries, which are out of student’s control. On the other hand, there are common reasons that can be remedied by the universities and the students.
One of the most common reasons why students don’t graduate on time is the 12 credit fallacy. This is the belief that students only have to take 12 credits each semester in order to graduate. Many schools require full-time students take 12 credits per quarter to be considered full-time, but some students assume 12 credits per quarter puts them on track to graduate in four years. At most colleges this is not the case.
Another reason students take longer than four years to graduate is the transfer process. A 2015 study found that 37.2 percent of students transfer colleges, but their credits don’t transfer with them. If credits do not transfer, usually the student’s graduation date gets pushed back.
Most debate around college education is focused on student loan debt, which hit a staggering $1.56 trillion in 2020. This equates to $5,490 student debt per capita nationally.
Students taking more than four years to graduate contributes to the country’s student debt crisis. A 2018 study found that 39 percent of students with student loans have considered dropping out before graduation to avoid accumulating more debt.
While the majority of students who drop out do so after their first year, a quarter of students who stay in college longer than four years choose to drop out. From mid-2014 to mid-2016, 3.9 million students dropped out of college with an average student debt of $7,174. Not only does this contribute to the student loan debt crisis, but it leads to young adults with thousands in debt and no degree.
Not only are these students who take longer than four years to graduate accumulating more debt than those who graduate on time, they are also losing money through wages. Instead of having their degree and starting their careers, they have two years of earning lower wages while they are still in college.
The comparison to on-time college graduates is even worse for college dropouts. According to College Atlas, college graduates earn about $21,000 more a year than college dropouts. On top of that, college dropouts are three times more likely to default on their loans than students who have graduated.
As college drop out rates continue to increase and students take longer to graduate, the country’s student loan debt continues to grow. Creating a generation of young people who have thousands in debt when starting their careers. They are behind in qualifications, or in work experience, compared to their cohorts who graduated in four years.
While there are both avoidable and unavoidable reasons students may take more than four years to graduate, it is vital that more students and incoming students understand the risks associated with not graduating on time.