Many students at Eastern as well as other Illinois universities are taking longer than four years to graduate.

Of the freshmen that entered Eastern in ’95, 60 percent graduated in five years and 65 percent graduated in six years, said Julia Abell of Eastern’s Planning and Institutional Studies Office. Of the freshmen that entered Eastern in ’96, 59 percent graduated in five years and 66 percent graduated in six years.

The reason Eastern does not have numbers for four year graduates, but has the numbers for five and six year graduates, is because they are required to submit the latter figures.

Eastern must submit the numbers of five and six year graduates to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System, which is required by the federal government in submitting information such as enrollment and salaries.

The six year graduation rate, which is the rate most frequently reported by institutions, has ranged from 65 percent to 70 percent in recent years, said Blair Lord, vice president of academic affairs.

Lord said the rate will likely increase in the future.

“For regional comprehensive institutions like Eastern, this is a very good graduation rate,” Lord said. “The average for such institutions is typically a bit less than 50 percent. That our graduation rate is much higher at Eastern than at similar institutions, is certainly one of the elements that helps us achieve our rating in U.S. News and World Reports.”

“For the future, we would all like this rate to increase; however, because it is so high currently, it will be a challenge to increase it very much.”

The rate shows there is positive communication at the university, Lord said.

“It speaks to the quality of the institution and educational experience that our students receive when they attend,” he said. “It also is evidence of the bond which students develop to the institution in large measure because of the quality of the relationships they develop with their faculty members.”

Lord said there are many factors contributing to the year increase in the graduation rate.

“Extended time to graduation has many causes and has been a subject of discussion for quite a few years.” Lord said. “Part of it is driven by the need of an ever increasing number of students to work to sustain themselves while in college. Part of it also occurs simply because students choose to sample a broader array of courses and complete various minors in addition to their major program of study.”

He said the EIU4 program last year was meant to encourage students to get their degree in four years, Lord said.

Eastern’s EIU4 program is a four year graduation incentive program designed for students to raise student awareness of the importance of timely graduation, contribute to freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, increase the number of graduates in four years and possibly reduce tuition cost.

Some of the program requirements students must maintain include making and keeping advising appointments, accepting courses offered at any time of day, notifying advisors of all changes, maintaining required grades, meeting graduation and major requirements and not withdrawing or failing any courses.

Lord said Eastern is trying to encourage students to graduate in a timely way with the program.

“The time to graduation at Eastern has not increased greatly over the past few years,” he said. “My expectation is that this probably will be the case over the next few years as well.”

Students ineligible for the EIU4 program include students in the teaching certification program, engineering cooperative program, environmental biology option, Gateway program, Presidential admit or other program not governed by Eastern.

Some Elementary Education majors say the program should include elementary education majors.

Amber Forester, a sophomore education major, said she will graduate in five years and a lot of other education majors have to stay at Eastern longer than planned as well.

“About half the students here are education majors and the four year program is not available.”

Some universities such as Western Illinois University have similar programs.

According to the university’s Web site, Western’s GradTrac program is a four-year graduation guarantee.

Undergraduates entering the GradTrac contract agree to remain in continuous enrollment, maintain an average of 15-16 hours of course work each semester and meet other advising requirements. If eligible students meet all requirements and still do not graduate in a four year time frame, the university will waive the tuition for the required courses needed for completion.

Also, $112,600 in scholarships have been awarded to freshmen enrolled in the GradTrac program for Fall 2003. These include residential, presidential, four-year foundation and centennial scholarships.

Western reported of the entering full-time freshmen in ’95, 49 percent graduated within six years by summer 2001 and 2 percent were still enrolled in fall of the same year.

Other Institutions have similar graduation rates.

The NCAA has record of the ’96 – ’97 graduation rates for students graduating in more than four years.

The NCAA reported Illinois State University at 57 percent; Southern Illinois University, 39 percent; University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, 80 percent; Northern Illinois University, 51 percent and Eastern, 66 percent.

Kelly Sronka, a sophomore elementary education major, said many students, regardless of their major, do not graduate in four years.

“For freshmen, when you first get here all you care about is partying,” she said, adding ” … and those gen. ed. classes you need to retake if you don’t get a C or higher.”

Sronka also said there are too many people for each counselor.

Liz Kelly, a sophomore education major, plans on graduating in four years but said she understands why so many other students graduate in longer than four years.

“(It’s) because they don’t go to class or they pick the wrong class and have to drop,” she said.

Kelly also said in the past elementary education majors chose from 10 -12 concentrations and now have to select from only four.

“Now you have to minor in subjects and take so many more classes,” she said.

Many students find the issue of finance the most important consideration regarding late graduation.

Laura Terestra, a sophomore business administration major, said the financial aspect is a bigger strain than actually having to stay here and she doesn’t mind as much as her parents do about taking longer to graduate.

Terestra said many students need to take summer classes to try to speed up the process, but “can you say you graduated in four years if you take 10,000 summer classes?”

Claire LaRocca, a freshman elementary education major, said finance is important to consider, but Eastern is worth the wait.

LaRocca is aware her major is not included in the EIU4 program, but because it isn’t, is not that much of a problem for her.

“It’s not really a big deal for me and if Eastern is giving me a more thorough education than another university, than this is working out for me,” she said.

Joy Bos, a senior dual certification major, said her program automatically is a five year program, but will instead take her six years to complete.

“Of course it’s aggravating,” Bos said. “I think advisors should tell students flat out it will take more than four years.”

Bos said even with taking 19 hours a semester she would not be able to have completed her major in five years like she was told.

Katie Rodman, a senior elementary education major, said credit hours transferring is another problem for students trying to graduate on time.

Bos said she will graduate after completing five and a half years because not all of her hours completed at Danville Area community College will transfer at Eastern.

Campus Editor Jennifer Chiariello can be reached at [email protected].