The four-year college degree is practically a thing of the past. In a nation where things are becoming faster and more efficient by the second, why is it actually taking longer to achieve a bachelor's degree? Shouldn't our country's education system be growing increasingly effective and accelerated along with our technology?
The Internet has brought about vast forms of media interchange to where we can access any information we could possibly want to know while sitting on the toilet and playing with our cell phone. With such quick and easy availability, it should be easier to accomplish our educational goals.
Instead, we are a nation of super-seniors and super-duper-seniors. A 2006 study by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that less than 35 percent of students at "four-year colleges" managed to finish their bachelor's degree in four years or less. After six years, 56 percent of undergrads had finally graduated. What the heck is going on? Are we doomed to a lifetime of schooling?
Recently, I was talking to a college student from Germany, a country with one of the best educational reputations, who explained to me that German universities are composed of three-year programs in which students take only the courses that apply to their major, do mandatory internships and spend at least one year abroad. Not to mention school only costs about $1,000 a year. With a system like that, I think we would all be more likely to graduate on time.
Universities (especially big ones like ASU) make a lot more money when students are paying for six years of school instead of four. They continually add general education requirements (wasn't that what high school was for?) that bog down our schedules and often have nothing to do with our majors or our future careers.
Also, they overcrowd and under-staff the school. At ASU and many other universities, there are not enough sections provided of required classes for each semester, so students find themselves in crisis when a class they must take to graduate is full.
And don't forget the ever-increasing cost of education. These days, if you don't come from a wealthy family and you didn't manage to get a National Merit Scholarship (or some other full ride), you have to spend more hours at a job than at school just to keep yourself slightly above the poverty line. Naturally, so many work hours negatively effects a person's GPA and causes them to take lighter course loads.
Unlike ASU, some universities are taking measures to resolve the issue of belated graduation. According to Encarta on msn.com, the University of Connecticut launched the Finish in Four initiative in 2004 to make sure that courses were available to students who needed them, as well as to improve and increase communication between students and advisers to keep them on track.
Students either don't know how to use the resources available to them (such as advisers) to stay on the path of a four-year degree, or they want to be a student forever.
You often hear people say that college was the time of their life — "Enjoy it while you can! The real world sucks! You can't go back!" I cannot honestly say from experience that this is untrue, since I am yet to reach the other side of the tassel. But if you can afford to be in school forever and you are enjoying yourself, then why not? Get 15 different degrees and keep doing keg stands until your bones become brittle and you break both hips.
Unfortunately, we can't all live in a Van Wilder-esque utopia — there eventually comes a time to graduate and move on. The best way to avoid a life sentence of school is to try planning ahead as much as possible.
You may still run into snags, but remember that ASU is not an ironclad machine (yet). It has a complex system, but like any system, it can be worked. If you manage your time properly, you won't have to sacrifice all of your extracurricular priorities — in other words, you will still have room for plenty of keg stands.
If you want to run away to Germany, send me your credit card info at:
