Report: Most Students Start Too Slowly To Finish A College Degree In Five Years

Why do so few students complete their undergraduate degree in four years? The short answer is that the majority of them get off to a slow start. Based on their first year in college, the average full-time student is not attempting or completing enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree even within five years. That’s one of the main takeaways from a new study - the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) Insights Report - by the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

Method

NSC researchers analyzed two measures for 905,689 first-time, degree-seeking students (including first-time in college and first-time, transfer-in students) at 342 colleges and universities. They included both full-time and part-time students.

The students had started college in fall 2019, winter 2019, spring 2020, or summer 2020 and were seeking an undergraduate certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree. They were followed for one full year from their starting term. For example, students who started in fall 2019 were followed through summer 2020, and students who started in spring 2020 were followed through winter 2020, etc.

The two measures were first-year credit completion ratio (CCR) and credit accumulation rate (CAR).

• The CCR is the ratio of credits earned to credits attempted. It’s a measure of student success or credit attainment that quantifies students’ first-year movement through coursework.
• The CAR measures the accumulation of college credits by identifying the share of students who surpassed specific credit-hour thresholds within a given period. For example, what percent of students earned 24 or more credits in their first year? It can serve as an early indicator of momentum toward degree completion and reveal when and where gaps in ultimate degree attainment between groups may begin.

Results

The average full-time student does not even attempt - let alone complete - enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years, which in most cases requires 120 credits.

• In the first year of study, the average full-time student attempted fewer than 27 credits and earned fewer than 22.
• Only 51% of full-time students earned 24 or more credit hours in their first year.
• Less than a third (28%) earned 30 or more hours of credit, which would be the pace necessary to complete a BA in four years.

On average, students earn about 75% of the credits they attempt. In other words, students earn nine credit hours for every 12 credits attempted. But credit completion rate varies by several factors, including student characteristics, academic readiness, and institutional differences.

• Looking first at racial/ethnic groups, the overall CCR ranged from 66.8% to 84.1%. The highest CCRs were achieved by Nonresident Aliens (84.1%), followed by Asian (83.5%), and White (79.8%) students. Black/African American (66.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (67.8%), and Hispanic (73.6%) students had lower CCRs.
• Women (78%) had a slightly higher CCR than men (74.4%).
• Looking at the intersection of race and ethnicity reveals the magnitude of difference that exists. With a semester schedule of 12 credit hours, racial/ethnic minority (American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African-American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Nonresident alien, and Two or More Races) male students would on average earn the equivalent of one course (3 credit hours) less than their Asian and White and female peers in their first year alone.
• Among first-year, degree-seeking students, those enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs achieved higher average CCRs (84.0%) than students enrolled in undergraduate certificate programs (74.6%) or associate degree programs (70.0%).
• First-year, degree-seeking students who were identified by their institution as “college ready” in both math and English achieved a higher CCR (81.1%) compared to students who were “not college ready” in both (62.5%). Students identified as “not college ready” in either math or English also achieved below-average CCRs in their first year (70.5% for “not college ready” in math alone; 71.4% for English alone).
• The average first-year CCR was 85.9% for students at private, four-year institutions and 80.6% for students at public, four-year institutions. The overall CCR for students at public, two-year institutions was 70.3%.

When it comes to the first-year accumulation of credits - the CAR measure - student and institutional differences were also found.

• Considering only those students who were enrolled full-time, 64.6% of full-time Nonresident, 60.6% of Asian, 55.3% of White, and 49.4% of Hispanic students earned at least 24 or more credit hours during their first year of study. Those rates compared to 40.2% for Blacks/African American students, 38.5% of American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 36.8% for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students.
• A similar pattern was found for the percentages of full-time students completing 30 credits in their first year: 40.2% for Nonresidents, 35.9% for Asians, 29.9% for whites, 25.7% for Hispanics, 19.8% for Blacks, 19.6% for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders, and 19% for American Indian/Alaska Natives.
• Overall, 41.7% of students aged 20 and younger earned 24 or more credit hours in their first year compared to 28.9% of students aged 21-24 and 19.5% of students over age 24.
• Among all degree-seeking students, 55.1% of students attending private, four-year institutions earned 24 or more credits during their first year of study compared to 43.8% of students at public, four-year institutions and 21.6% of students at public, two-year institutions.

This is the first time the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has used actual credit information to measure various forms of student progression such as first-year credit accumulation rate and credit completion ratio.

It’s important to remember that the data come from a volunteer sample of institutions that may not be representative of colleges or students nationwide. Nonetheless, the implications of the findings are significant and highlight several issues associated with institutional practices, college costs and student success.

First, the results point to the importance of providing early, intensive advising for students. According to Dr. Afet Dundar, Director, Equity in Research and Analytics at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and one of the authors of the report, “College and university administrators and practitioners can use these metrics to design effective and timely support for those students who need it the most, while students are still enrolled. Otherwise, students will continue to fall behind academically and financially by not completing college as soon as possible.”

Second, policies such as banded tuition - where students pay the same tuition even if they take more credits within a certain range; e.g. between 12 to 18 credits - offer a double incentive for students to take more courses in a semester. By taking full advantage of banded tuition, students can save on tuition, and they can shorten their time to degree.

Third, policies such as Complete College America’s “15 to Finish”campaign where colleges urge and support students to take at least 15 credit hours per semester in order to stay on track for a timely graduation represent an intervention that can simultaneously target improved degree completion, lower college costs, and less student debt.

About the National Student Clearinghouse

The National Student Clearinghouse is a nonprofit organization that was formed in 1993 to provide the higher education community with accurate educational reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services. It offers comprehensive enrollment, degree, and certificate records for more than 3,600 participating institutions, which represent 98% of all higher education students in public and private U.S. institutions.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the NRC, regularly reporting national data on postsecondary enrollment, mobility and student outcomes.