Four-year graduation:
House Bill 1348 and other pieces of legislation aim to improve Indiana’s four-year graduation rates:
Four-year graduation rate for full-time students at Ball State: 32 percent
Four-year graduation rate for full-time students at Purdue University: 39 percent
Four-year graduation rate for full-time students at Indiana University: 55 percent
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
A recent state bill could require state universities to offer free classes for some students in order to improve four-year graduation rates.
Under House Bill 1348, Ball State would have to provide students a class without charge when they are unable to register for the class needed to graduate in four years.
There are stipulations for the opportunity of a free class, however. The class in question must be offered at the same time as another class required under the degree plan, already full or not offered.
Seats in all lecture and online classes must be unavailable before the course is considered full. Students refusing to take online classes or classes at inconvenient times are ineligible for the free alternatives.
The bill also requires universities to offer degree plans to incoming freshmen who have declared their majors.
Degree plans map out an advised schedule of classes to accomplish graduation in four years.
The new system of mapping will work in conjunction with Ball State’s current DegreeWorks program, said Marilyn Buck, Ball State associate provost.
She said the new degree plans will make academic counseling more efficient and benefit students.
“When I was an adviser, we did exactly this, even though it was not required,” Buck said.
Ball State is currently working to set up and train faculty for the new system.
The bill is a part of a larger state goal of increasing four-year graduation rates.
“Indiana’s economy needs college graduates,” the bill states. Only half of the students who enter college will finish, and only half of that group will do so in four years.
Another purpose of the bill is to reduce the amount of money students spend on higher education.
Students who don’t graduate in four years could waste up to $50,000 in tuition and lost wages per year, according to the bill.
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