Timely graduation

While universities may take pride in how its enrollment numbers look, the emphasis needs to be on not how many students are starting college, but on how many make it to the finish line and receive their degree. As Alexis Sachdev explores on temple-news.com, a recent study from Complete College America found that part-time students struggle to graduate as they navigate an educational process tailored for full-time students. At Temple, 16 percent of the student population is made up of part-time students, excluding Temple Japan.

The Temple News cares about the academic wellbeing of all university students, even those who do not always fit the traditional mold of a 20-something college student. That being said, the university should always be looking for better ways to tailor its curriculum to help non-traditional students.

According to CCA’s study, it takes full-time students an average of 4.7 years to earn a 4-year bachelor’s degree. Some of the reasons for this include students getting stuck in remedial courses, credits not transferring from a community college or other institution and running out of money to complete a college education.

It should not take more than 4 years to earn a 4-year degree. The university needs to take a hard look at ways to streamline the process: include making remedial courses count for credit instead of acting as a prerequisite for credited courses, trim excess courses that do not help a student’s development in a real-world setting, and for transfer students, find ways to accept credits earned at other institutions. Temple should adopt a non-traditional curriculum for non-traditional students.

In addition, students also are responsible for their education. Be sure to regularly see an advisor and remain proactive about earning your degree on time.