Are Students Who Comply with Progress Toward Degree Regulations More Successful?

NACTA Journal, Mar 2006 by Wilson, Elizabeth B, Kirby, Barbara M

Abstract

"Progress toward degree" regulations which included the student development of an on-line "plan of study" were introduced to students to retain and speed up the rate of time toward degree completion beginning with the entering 2002 freshmen at North Carolina State University. This study found that contrary to Tinto's interactionist model (1993), the demographic characteristics of gender, race and SAT scores were not associated with whether a student complied to regulations and developed an on-line "plan of study;" however, high school class rank was found to be associated. Practical significances in high school class rank may not warrant additional advising services for this group. The regulation of developing an on-line "plan of study" has engaged students and faculty at our institution in a more formal and regulated advising process. This exploratory study also found that students who did develop an on-line "plan of study" were more likely to possess indicators of progress toward degree such as being retained after two years, taking more hours toward their degree, taking more total hours, and have a higher GPA. As the freshmen class of 2002 progresses through their degree programs, further research should be conducted to determine if these regulations also decrease time-to-degree rates.

Introduction

Time-to-degree rates of students in higher education continue to be an issue of concern for both public and private institutions. The number of students who complete a bachelor's degree within four years is declining, according to national studies (Engle, 2004). This continuing decline hinders the ability of our higher education institutions to provide the opportunity to an ever-increasing number of qualified applicants to enter these institutions and weakens the financial power of the institution. Students who take longer to graduate also share this financial burden in the form of additional tuition and fewer years of earning potential.

ACT Newsroom (2001) reported the percentage of college students who return after their first year of study is slightly increasing but the percentage of undergraduates who complete their degree in less than five years has continued to decrease and is now at 51%. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2003) reported that those completing their first bachelor's degree take 55 months on average to complete a four-year degree. Within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, the 1999 entering cohort's four, five and six year graduation rate was slightly higher than the university graduation rates with 38.6% of undergraduates completing a degree in four years, 62 % in five years and 67.5 % within six years of enrolling in a degree program (North Carolina State University, 2005).

NC State's four-year graduation rate is consistent with national averages and slightly higher than the national five-year graduation rate. However, according to the findings of the Task Force on Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates at North Carolina State University (2003), the university consistently ranked in the bottom half among its 15 peer institutions with regard to retention rates of first year students, four- year graduation rates and five- year and six-year graduation rates. In response to concerns over the retention and graduation rates, the university adopted a new regulation, Progress Toward Undergraduate Degree, REG02.05.3 in 2002. North Carolina State University stated in Academic Policies and Regulations, "Upon admission as a degree-seeking student, an undergraduate student is expected to make satisfactory progress in a planned and deliberate way toward graduation" (North Carolina State University, 2002).

The intention of these policies was to increase timely graduation rates by creating interim assessments of "progress toward degree" that track students through their degree program. In recent years, some institutions have incorporated contract-like formats that students must pledge to strive for and other institutions have created benchmarks for students related to the numbers of hours they must complete after a certain number of semesters. Several institutions have created an on-line tool that allows students and advisers to work together to lay out an individual semester by semester plan for completion of the degree.

At North Carolina State University "progress toward degree" regulations and an on-line tool called an on-line "plan of study" were introduced to students to retain and speed up the rate of time toward degree completion beginning with the entering 2002 freshmen. Students entering the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University in the fall of 2002 were the first class to be formally held responsible for following "progress toward degree" regulations.

The "progress toward degree" regulations were as follows:

A. Development and registering of an on-line "plan of study" that serves as a planning tool for completing degree requirements for the major(s) in which the student is matriculated, or in the case of the student enrolled in the First Year College (and other undeclared or undesignated programs), expects to matriculate, or transfer. The "plan of study" can include plans for tailoring the academic experience. Therefore, a student's intent to pursue multiple majors, minors, cooperative education, study abroad, and other specialized academic opportunities should be reflected in the registered Plan of Study.