Student Voices: Time to Graduation
Freshmen 2009Seniors starting as freshmen
2009Seniors starting as transfers
2009
Samples
Sample Response Rate
Freshmen N= 389/1875 21%
Seniors starting as Freshmen N=922/2545 36%
Seniors who started as transfers N=223/1124 20%
Perceptions regarding time to graduation
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Graduating in 4 years or less is important to me
Very important or important____Not very important or not important at all
91%
9%
64%
36%
64%
36%
Graduating in 4 years was important to me when I began my college career
Very important or important____Not very important or not important at all
n/a
n/a
75%
25%
77%
24%
How many years to graduate?(in %)
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Less than 4 years 8 10 64 years 38 34 204 ½ years 28 18 145 years 20 28 255 ½ years 3 5 126 years 1 4 13Over 6 years 0 1 11I am planning to transfer to another institution and graduate from there
2 0 0
When realized it would take longer than 4 years (in %)
Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Never expected to graduate in 4 years 18 9
Prior to transferring to UW-EC n/a 27When I transferred to UW-EC n/a 34During my first year in college at UW-EC 18 5
During my second year in college at UW-EC 30 8
During my third year in college at UW-EC 29 14
During my fourth year in college at UW-EC 4 4
4 year degree plans(as %)
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Does your major department have a 4 year degree plan?(FR were asked if they know about the 4 year plan)
Yes
No
FR: haven’t decided on major yetSR: I don’t know
67
11
22
64
10
26
64
5
31
If yes, have you met with an advisor to guide plan of study?
Yes 84
If yes, have you used it to help plan course of study?
Yes 86 74 60
4 year degree plans(as %)
Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Does your 4 year degree plan include a sequence of when to take courses?
Yes
No
I don’t know
83
10
8
73
9
18Does your 4 year degree plan include info about when courses are offered?
Yes
No
I don’t know
46
35
19
48
31
21Changed majors when transferred to UWEC
n/a n/a 62
Advising influences(as %)
Indicate which of these are true for you? My advisor encourages/ed me to ….
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
….graduate in 4 years 67 58 59
….stay in school longer than 4 years to complete additional majors/minors
12 16 19
….stay in school longer to explore and study additional areas of interest
6 8 8
….stay in school longer to complete an internship
2 6 4
….stay in school longer to do faculty/student collaborative research
3 2 4
….stay in school longer to study abroad 9 7 6
….stay in school longer to do some other outside-of-class activity
1 3 0
Advising(as %)
Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Did you meet with an advisor during each semester during your junior and senior years?
Yes
No
I don’t know
64
34
1
73
26
1
How helpful was your advisor in planning course selections to help you graduate on time?
Very helpful
Somewhat
Not helpful
Hindered my progress
38
40
17
5
34
42
18
6
Student course choices(as %)
Students were asked if they had taken(Freshmen were also asked about planning to take…) the following courses
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
…additional courses for personal interest, knowing they will not count toward degree requirements
42 43 40
…additional courses for career preparation, knowing they will not count toward degree requirements
46 37 28
…courses to maintain eligibility to athletics, financial aid, veteran's benefits, insurance benefits, etc.
7 18 21
….repeat a course to improve GPA 8 22 20
Student course experiences (as %)
Students indicated they had experienced (SR responses indicate that this experience delayed their graduation):
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
….all sections of a course to meet degree requirement (major/minor/GE) were closed
47 16 21
….only section of required course that would fit into my schedule was closed
48 10 13
….prerequisite for required course was closed 17 9 10
….required course was not offered the semester I needed to take it
13 16 22
….time conflict between two required courses 41 8 (2 or more semesters)
11(2 or more semesters)
….course conflicted with work schedule 7 3 6
….course conflicted with family commitments 1 1 3
….course conflicted with athletic activity commitment
6 1 0
…..course conflicted with music activity commitment
7 2 1
Student perceptions on factors extending time to graduation (as %)
Students endorsed all items that they perceived would or did extend time to degree. Full load = 15 credits
Freshman Seniors starting as FR
Senior Transfers
Need to work impacted taking a full load each semester
12 33 35
Family obligations impacted taking a full load each semester
1 8 14
Personal reasons impacted taking a full load each semester
11 14 19
Only took courses at convenient times, even if could take at other times
13 18 18
Degree program can’t be completed in four years 24 26 11
Want to maintain a high GPA so take fewer courses each semester
33 21 21
Study abroad 54 21 8
Completing an internship 33 10 6
Transferred courses from another institution that did not count toward requirements
n/a 21 74
Transfer courses not countingtoward degree (as %)
Seniors starting as Freshmen
Seniors who started as transfers
1-2 courses 58 39
3-5 courses 48 42
6+ courses 12 19