Students attending Ohio colleges and universities are enduring more than four years to graduate, according to a report by the Ohio Board of Regents.
Ohio State students are averaging 4.5 years to graduate.
The report included the 12 state-supported Ohio universities and acknowledged that some bachelor’s degree programs are specifically designed to take longer than four years.
Only three schools displayed a shorter average than OSU: Bowling Green averaged 4.3 years, Ohio University averaged four years and Miami University averaged 3.7 years to graduation.
Cleveland State University, the University of Akron and Youngstown State University averaged the longest, with an average five years to gain any bachelor’s degree.
“I think OSU should have the lowest average time to graduation,” said Renee Lanzara, a senior in interactive communication processes.
“The university is equipped with such a large counseling staff ready to help students with scheduling in necessary classes,” Lanzara said. “Students just need to make that effort to make sure they are taking essential classes and not just random electives that are fun or easy.”
Various factors may affect the amount of time required to obtain a degree at any college or university.
Some of these responsibilities rest upon the institution, such as availability of scheduling prerequisite classes, high standards for credit requirements and amount of counseling provided.
“Whether a campus is residential or students live away from the university also bears weight on how long it will take a student to graduate,” said Rich Petrick, vice chancellor for finances in the Ohio Board of Regents.
“This affects the amount of credit hours a student is able to enroll in per quarter. Family income also is a factor, because students who work while taking classes have a less-available schedule,” he said.
Students’ choices and actions also affect length of college stay. A lack of preparation, necessitating additional remedial education, a switch in major or a job while taking classes, transfer students and students seeking a dual degree may require a longer stay than the traditional four years.
Graduation time is clearly drawn out when credits are attempted to be transferred from college to college, said Brian Rutschilling, a sophomore in information systems.
“I have been to DeVry, Columbus State and now OSU, and each time there is a lot of problems created when trying to transfer grades and credits,” Rutschilling said. “That, in the long run, is going to extend my college years quite a bit because I am re-taking basically the same classes.”
Petrick spoke of the relationship between transferring and graduation time. Students who plan to transfer need to be focused on their class load and single-minded in area of study, Petrick said.
Administrators suggest the reason some schools lag behind in years-to-degree studies is the selection process of the student body. Many schools that have a highly selective program tend to graduate students more quickly.
“OSU has raised the bar on requirements for students to enroll in the last few years. This has created a student body more determined, because they had to prove that determination by high school accomplishments to get in,” said Rutschilling. “People here have proven that they are prepared to continue quality education.”
