State wants college kids to graduate much sooner

Funding on line if students fail to earn degrees on time

Florida leaders hope to soon produce a new type of college student: one who graduates in four years.

Although students often enter a university or community college with the hopes of earning a bachelor’s degree in four years, most fail to achieve that. Only 44 percent of freshmen at state universities finish in four years. The rate is 23 percent at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and 26 percent at Florida International University in Miami.

And the four-year graduation rates are even lower for students who start at community colleges, with just 3 percent of students at Palm Beach State College and Broward College, and 4 percent at Miami Dade College, earning a bachelor’s degree somewhere within four years, state data shows.

Some state legislators say it’s time to change those numbers.

Under a bill in the Senate, colleges could lose funding if fewer than half of their fulltime students earn a degree in the traditional time period. That would be two years for an associate degree and four for a bachelor’s.

Some students, such as David Hernandez of Palm Beach State College, have traveled to Tallahassee to oppose the measure, saying it doesn’t factor in the challenges many students have earning degrees quickly.

“They’re not looking at the human perspective. You can’t force or scare a student into finishing in four years or two years,” said Hernandez, a nursing student who sits on Palm Beach State College’s Board of Trustees.

Hernandez started pursuing an associate degree at Palm Beach State in 2011, several years out of high school. While in college, he took a few non-credit remedial classes, worked 20 hours a week, changed his area of study several times, transferred briefly to Broward College and took a semester off to deal with a family death in Puerto Rico. He finally earned his associate degree from Palm Beach State in 2015.

“You have to be a perfect student to finish in two years,” said Hernandez. “For non-traditional students like me, it’s a little harder and takes a little longer.”

Hernandez worries that colleges would try to rush students and discourage them from changing their areas of study, out of fear they will lose funding.

State Sen. Bill Galvano, RBradenton, who sponsored the bill, said the effort is designed to ensure schools are helping students succeed. He said Senate leaders have heard students complain they are finishing school with too much debt. He said students end up paying an extra $22,000 for each additional year they’re in college.

“If someone is able to obtain a four-year degree in a traditional four-year period, there is a financial advantage to them,” he said.

Stefan Dacosta, 23, who graduated from Broward College in December with a bachelor’s degree, said he agrees with the goal. But he said it may be tough for some students and colleges to meet the tougher requirements.

Dacosta spent 4½ years on the Davie campus earning an associate and then bachelor’s degree. He took longer than normal, he said, because of some problems securing financial aid and housing one semester.

“I was moving around from parts of Lauderhill to Boynton Beach and taking the Tri-Rail from Boynton Beach to Davie for two to three months,” he said. “It was tough taking classes full time, and I was having to pay out of pocket.”

He said Broward College shouldn’t lose money because of situations like his that were out of the school’s control.

The Senate bill, which cleared a higher education appropriations committee, would not apply to parttime students taking fewer than 12 credit hours during their first semester. But if they start out as full-time students and reduce their hours later, the schools would be penalized.

“This bill places unrealistic and unattainable expectations on colleges and when these are not met, the institutions are labeled as failures,” said Ana Ciereszko, a faculty union representative at Miami Dade College.

At Broward College, about half of students receive two-year degrees, but it can take up to four years, said Joyce Walsh-Portillo, associate vice president for academic affairs.

“The average age of our students in 25. Many have families, they work fulltime and have a lot of other obligations,” she said.

Roxana Guevara, a student at Miami Dade College, said she started in the fall of 2015 and has a 3.8 grade-point average and numerous awards and honors. But she won’t finish in two years, because she hasn’t had the money to take enough classes.

“My family is in the borderline of low-income and middle class,” she said. “I’m constantly applying for scholarships but sometimes that’s not enough.”

Colleges say they recognize that the graduation rates are too low and are taking steps to improve them. Broward College and Palm Beach State say they have been improving their advising and monitoring of student progress.

FAU has launched a new grant for needy students. It starts at $3,000 and increases $1,000 a year for the next three years, which officials say encourages students to complete their degrees.

“FAU wants to ensure that all of its students have a clear path to graduating in four years or less,” spokesman Joshua Glanzer said.