(Host) With the cost of a college education rising – many schools are looking at innovative ways to lure students.
Green Mountain College is joining a number of small private schools that are offering four year "graduation guarantees."
As VPR’s Nina Keck reports, they hope this will help them compete with larger, less costly public institutions.
(Keck) Green Mountain College says any student who maintains a 2.0 grade point average, takes a minimum of 15 credits a semester, and meets regularly with their faculty advisor will not have to pay for tuition beyond their four years of study at the college.
Sandra Bartholomew, Green Mountain College’s Vice President for Enrollment, says it’s a way to provide confidence for families trying to budget for college.
(Bartholemew) "I think that graduation within four years is very overlooked factor in college planning. Most people look at the sticker price and multiply it by four, maybe subtract financial aid. But that is very rarely the actual cost. "
(Keck) Because she says it’s much more common today for students to take longer than four years to complete their undergraduate degree. Many students can’t afford to attend college full time. Others may not be able to get in certain core classes because of overcrowding.
Dave McFadden is Executive Director at Manchester College, a small liberal arts school in Northern Indiana. They began offering a four year graduation guarantee last year.
(McFadden) "At Manchester 85 % of graduates finish in 4 years. At the public institutions where many of our students also look when they’re choosing a college – the four year graduation rates are between 50-70% at the major publics. And at regional campuses as low as 25% in four years. So I think that’s the dirty little secret – students say well that won’t happen to me, but in fact it happens to three out of four at many of those institutions and often that last year is enormously expensive."
(Keck) Because state and federal student aid typically runs out after four years. And he says students lose out financially not being in the workforce. McFadden says the response to the guarantee at Manchester College has been tremendous and applications for next fall are up 30%.
Sandra Bartholemew says Green Mountain College believes their new four year guarantee will also help attract and retain students. According to the National Association of Student Aid Administrators, looking at all colleges and universities nationwide, only 36% of students seeking a bachelor’s degree graduate in four years. With tuition room and board costing more than $35,000 a year at Green Mountain College, Bartholemew says that extra year or two can really add up.
For VPR news, I’m Nina Keck.