MetroNews: Fifteen to Finish program promotes faster college graduation rates
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State junior and Boone County native Taylor Raby is glad she’s able to handle a full-time schedule–something that some students either aren’t able to or choose not to do.
“I thought it was really important just to be able to graduate on time,” she said. “I’m actually going to be able to graduate early, hopefully.”
The upperclassmen was one of nine students to talk with Dr. Paul Hill, Chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, on Thursday during a sit-down meeting to emphasize the importance of taking at least fifteen credit hours each semester.
“In our initial survey across the state of West Virginia–all of the public colleges and universities–we found that 42 percent of the students were not taking 15 or more hours per semester,” Dr. Hill said.
“We think there’s probably a good percentage of those students that could finish faster, really achieve their career goals much sooner, if they were a little bit more focused on taking those hours.”
Raby agrees. That’s why she is advocating for the ‘Fifteen to Finish’ program, which is a feature of College Foundation of West Virginia.
“I just want to help them promote it because it’s a good program,” she said. “And, you know, it’s less money if you graduate in four years.”
Reducing college costs is a common theme at a time when student loan debt, now at 1.2 trillion dollars, has surpassed credit card debt in the United States.