Exploring Whether and When: A Longitudinal Study of College Time-to-Completion

Abstract

For many students in the United States it takes longer than the intended number of years to obtain a college degree. Delayed time-to-completion results in higher costs for students and their families, institutions, and societies, and increases the likelihood of student drop out. This study reframed the dominant deficit-based view on drop out in the literature to a strengths-based and ecological perspective of completion. Using discrete-time hazard models (a form of survival analysis), this study investigated the influence of individual and institutional factors on the timing of student degree completion within two-year and four-year institutions in a single public higher education state system. Findings demonstrated (1) factors reflecting the ways in which students engage academically with their institutions (e.g., attempting credits, attending one or more campuses) and (2) specific institutional factors have the greatest influence on the timing of degree completion, holding preexisting student characteristics constant. Thus, this study highlighted the critical role institutions can—and should—play in becoming active agents in the complex process of degree completion. Moreover, it suggested the need to reconceptualize what “timely” completion means and whether current expectations of time-to-completion align with—or clash against—the reality of today’s students and learning environments.