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A Descriptive Summary of
1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients
One Year Later
With an Essay on Time to Degree
August 1996
(NCES 96-158) Ordering information
The following statistical report includes an essay on time to degree from A Descriptive Summary of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients One Year Later. A full copy of this statistical report is available in portable document format (Adobe Acrobat PDF). You need the Acrobat Reader software to view these files.
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For questions about the content of this report, please contact Paula Knepper at Paula.Knepper@ed.gov.
Introduction
In academic year 1992-93, more than 1.1 million students received
bachelor's degrees from 1,809 U.S. institutions of higher education.
A nationally representative sample of that population, consisting
of 10,080 students attending 648 institutions, was surveyed in
their last year of college and again 1 year after graduation.[1]
This report uses those data to provide a detailed profile of the
population of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients, with particular
attention to the amount of time taken to complete the degree,
an issue of intense interest to students, parents, policymakers,
and administrators.
[1] Digest of Education Statistics, 1995 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, , 1995), tables 243 and 250.
In recent years, the amount of time required to complete a bachelor's
degree has attracted considerable attention as rising costs have
increased the financial burden of undergraduate education on families
and taxpayers (through their support of public institutions and
state and federal financial aid programs). Delays in degree completion
can be problematic for the individual, the institution, and society.
For instance, individual costs involve additional tuition, foregone
income while enrolled, and reduced long-term earning potential;
institutional costs involve reduced ability to forecast future
enrollment and to meet new enrollment demand, because of fewer
spaces for new students; and social costs involve reduced efficiency
of public investment in higher education, since it takes longer
to realize returns on public dollars invested in support of undergraduate
education.
A Profile of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients
This section presents a brief sketch of the characteristics of
1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients, including tables and figures
describing the population according to a number of key characteristics:
gender, race-ethnicity, age at degree receipt, and types of institutions
attended. This profile is included to provide the reader with
a basic description of the population on which this and subsequent
B&B reports will be based.
Gender and race-ethnicity
Since academic year 1984-85, a majority of bachelor's degrees
awarded by U.S. institutions of higher education have been earned
by women, whose share of the total has gradually increased since
then.[2] In 1992-93, 55 percent of all bachelor's degree recipients
were women (table 1 and figure 1), as were two-thirds (68 percent)
of those who received the degree at age 40 or older. Most majors
in education, the health professions, and psychology were women
(79, 75, and 74 percent, respectively), while men predominated
among engineering majors (86 percent) (figure 2).[3]
[2] Digest of Education Statistics, 1995 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, , 1995), table 256.
[3] Compendium table I.10 presents data on the distribution of majors.
Graduates' scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the
American College Testing Program examination (ACT) were available
for about two-thirds of the B&B sample (68 percent).[4] Scores
on each exam were converted to quartile ranks among B&B participants
who took each test, and these were then combined into a single
quartile score (see appendix A). Among graduates who took the
SAT or ACT, the top quartile contained a larger proportion of
men than did other quartiles, while the bottom quartile contained
proportionally more women. This pattern was reversed with respect
to achievement in college, however: there were proportionally
more women among those with a cumulative grade point average (GPA)
of 3.5 or above than among those with lower GPAs. The gender difference
in overall college grades persists after controlling for age at
entry, and also after controlling for major (except among majors
in history, engineering, biological sciences, and mathematics
and other sciences) (table 2). [5]
[4] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System. The remaining 32 percent consists of graduates who did not take an entrance examination (11 percent), and those who took an examination but did not report a score or whose examination status was unknown (21 percent). Scores were drawn from institutional records if possible, and self-reported if not available from institutional records.
[5] Self-reported GPAs.
Table 1-Percentage distribution of bachelor's degree recipients according to gender and race-ethnicity, by selected student characteristics: 1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gender Race-ethnicity
American
Indian/ Asian/ Black, White,
Alaskan Pacific non- non-
Male Female Native Islander Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 45.3 54.7 0.6 4.9 6.1 5.1 83.3
Baccalaureate degree major
Professional fields 44.8 55.2 0.6 4.4 6.3 4.8 84.0
Business and management 53.8 46.2 0.6 4.6 7.6 4.4 82.8
Education 21.4 78.6 0.6 2.0 3.8 4.4 89.2
Engineering 86.3 13.7 0.3 9.8 4.1 4.3 81.5
Health professions 25.3 74.7 0.7 4.2 6.4 5.6 83.1
Public affairs/social services 40.5 59.5 0.3 2.1 10.5 8.4 78.7
Arts and sciences 47.2 52.8 0.5 6.1 6.0 5.6 81.8
Biological sciences 51.9 48.1 0.3 8.2 6.7 5.9 78.9
Mathematics and other
sciences 59.8 40.2 0.4 10.5 6.8 4.5 77.9
Social science 49.1 50.9 0.6 5.3 6.9 5.1 82.2
History 60.3 39.7 0.3 3.9 2.5 1.5 91.8
Humanities 40.6 59.4 0.7 5.4 4.6 6.4 82.9
Psychology 26.3 73.7 0.2 1.3 7.2 8.5 82.8
Other 42.7 57.3 0.8 4.0 6.0 4.7 84.7
Age received bachelor's degree
Under 23 40.4 59.6 0.3 4.6 5.7 3.6 85.8
23-24 54.9 45.1 0.3 7.1 5.4 5.7 81.5
25-29 55.4 44.6 0.8 4.2 6.3 8.2 80.5
30-39 41.1 58.9 1.4 4.0 8.0 6.7 79.8
40 or older 31.9 68.1 1.6 1.6 7.7 4.8 84.2
Entrance examination score quartile
Bottom 25% 40.7 59.3 0.5 2.7 12.5 6.4 77.9
Middle 50% 49.5 50.5 0.3 4.1 3.6 3.6 88.4
Top 25% 56.5 43.5 0.6 6.2 1.7 2.7 88.7
No exam taken or 37.3 62.7 0.8 6.3 8.1 7.3 77.6
no score reported
Cumulative undergraduate GPA*
Less than 3.0 55.2 44.8 0.5 4.6 11.3 6.2 77.5
3.0-3.49 45.7 54.3 0.6 5.7 5.0 4.9 83.9
3.5 or higher 35.2 64.8 0.6 3.7 2.4 3.8 89.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Self-reported.
NOTE: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Figure 1-Age and gender composition of bachelor's degree recipients: 1992-93
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Figure 2-Gender composition of bachelor's degree recipients, by major: 1992-93
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Certain majors differed in their racial-ethnic composition (table
1). For example, Asian/Pacific Islanders made up a larger share
of engineering, biological science, and math/science majors (8
to 11 percent) than education, public affairs/social services,
and psychology majors (1 to 2 percent). However, black, non-Hispanic
students were more highly represented among business and public
affairs majors than among history majors (8 and 11 percent versus
3 percent). White students made up a larger share of education
and history majors than other majors (about 90 percent versus
78 to 85 percent of other majors).
Table 2-Average cumulative and major GPAs of bachelor's degree recipients by gender, major field of study, and age at entry into postsecondary education: 1992-93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cumulative GPA* Major GPA*
Gender Gender
Total Male Female Total Male Female
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 3.17 3.10 3.24 3.31 3.25 3.36
Baccalaureate degree major
Professional fields 3.19 3.10 3.26 3.31 3.23 3.38
Business and management 3.15 3.10 3.22 3.26 3.22 3.30
Education 3.26 3.11 3.30 3.43 3.32 3.46
Engineering 3.10 3.08 3.18 3.20 3.19 3.26
Health professions 3.28 3.20 3.31 3.36 3.31 3.38
Public affairs/social services 3.12 3.02 3.18 3.33 3.25 3.39
Arts and sciences 3.17 3.13 3.22 3.33 3.29 3.36
Biological sciences 3.20 3.20 3.20 3.26 3.26 3.27
Mathematics and other sciences 3.14 3.14 3.13 3.27 3.29 3.25
Social science 3.11 3.06 3.17 3.28 3.25 3.31
History 3.25 3.19 3.36 3.44 3.44 3.46
Humanities 3.23 3.14 3.28 3.41 3.34 3.46
Psychology 3.18 3.05 3.23 3.34 3.28 3.37
Other 3.11 3.00 3.20 3.27 3.20 3.33
Age at postsecondary entry
Under 20 3.16 3.09 3.22 3.30 3.25 3.35
20-24 3.24 3.17 3.33 3.33 3.29 3.39
25-29 3.41 3.27 3.51 3.49 3.35 3.58
30 or older 3.41 3.22 3.47 3.46 3.28 3.52
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Self-reported.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Age at degree receipt
About half of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients were age 22
or younger when they received their degree, and about one-quarter
were age 23 or 24. One graduate out of six graduated at age 30
or older (table 3). Older students were more represented among
those with high grades: graduates with cumulative GPAs of 3.5
or above were more likely to be in their 30s or older than were
students with lower GPAs (17 percent were in their 30s, compared
with 7 to 8 percent of those with lower grades; 11 percent were
40 or older, compared with 2 to 5 percent of those with lower
grades).[6]
[6] A similar pattern is evident when overall grades are examined by age at entry: students in each category of age at entry had higher average cumulative GPAs than younger entrants (the only exception being that those who began at age 30 or older did not have significantly higher GPAs than those who began at 25-29 years old) (table 2).
Table 3-Percentage distribution of bachelor's degree recipients according to age when received bachelor's degree, by cumulative undergraduate GPA: 1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 40 or
23 23-24 25-29 30-39 older
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 47.0 24.7 12.4 10.0 6.0
Cumulative undergraduate GPA*
Less than 3.0 42.4 33.5 15.0 7.1 2.0
3.0-3.49 50.8 24.9 11.6 7.7 5.0
3.5 or higher 46.6 14.5 11.3 16.7 11.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Self-reported.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Degree-granting institution
Sixty-five percent of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients graduated
from public institutions; 42 percent graduated from public doctorate-granting
institutions (table 4). Graduates who scored in the bottom quartile
of the SAT or ACT were more likely than others for whom a score
was available to have received their degree from public nondoctoral
institutions (32 percent versus 12 to 20 percent of others), while
those scoring in the top quartile were more likely to have graduated
from private, doctorate-granting institutions (23 percent versus
9 to 14 percent of others with scores reported).
Table 4-Percentage distribution of bachelor's degree recipients according to control and offering of awarding institution, by entrance examination score quartile: 1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private,
Public 4-year not-for-profit 4-year
Non- Non-
doctorate- Doctorate- doctorate- Doctorate-
Total granting granting Total granting granting Other*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 65.2 23.2 42.0 31.4 17.9 13.4 3.5
Entrance examination score quartile
Bottom 25% 74.6 32.0 42.6 24.2 15.4 8.8 1.2
Middle 50% 67.9 20.1 47.8 29.2 15.6 13.6 2.9
Top 25% 60.5 12.0 48.5 37.6 14.6 23.0 1.9
No exam taken or no score reported 60.1 27.9 32.1 34.0 23.5 10.5 5.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Includes graduates of private, for-profit institutions and of institutions of unknown type (i.e., 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients who were sampled from an institution other than the degree-granting one).
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
The rest of this section pertains to entry into postsecondary
education and progress toward the bachelor's degree. A small number
of 1992-93 graduates already held a bachelor's degree or higher
level degree (6.5 percent) (compendium table I.11). Since it would
not be appropriate to include such students in the discussion
of entry and progress, graduates who held a prior bachelor's degree
or higher were excluded from the tables and figures that follow.
Figure 3--Percentage distribution of bachelor's degrees recipients according to type of awarding institution: 1992-93
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Point of entry into postsecondary education
Half of all 1992-93 first-time bachelor's degree recipients (53
percent) attended more than one institution before completing
their degree.[7] This includes students who changed institutions
before earning the degree, and students who temporarily enrolled
elsewhere but received the degree from the first institution attended.
Table 5 presents information on how first-time bachelor's degree
recipients began their postsecondary education.
[7] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Table 5-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to control and level of first institution attended, by selected student characteristics: 1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private,
Private, not-for-
not-for- Public profit
Public profit Public less-than- less-than- Private,
4-year 4-year 2-year 2-year 4-year for-profit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 54.4 27.9 16.0 0.0 0.8 0.9
Baccalaureate degree major
Professional fields 55.6 24.6 17.9 0.1 0.9 0.9
Business and management 54.6 26.0 17.3 0.0 0.9 1.2
Education 54.9 24.8 18.9 0.0 1.2 0.2
Engineering 61.2 21.8 15.1 0.2 0.0 1.7
Health professions 56.8 22.9 18.1 0.3 1.5 0.4
Public affairs/social services 51.7 23.9 22.3 0.0 1.4 0.7
Arts and sciences 51.9 34.3 12.7 0.0 0.4 0.7
Biological sciences 49.8 40.2 9.2 0.0 0.6 0.3
Mathematics and other sciences 55.6 28.2 15.3 0.0 0.1 0.8
Social science 56.5 31.6 11.2 0.0 0.5 0.1
History 48.6 41.0 9.9 0.0 0.5 0.0
Humanities 44.8 39.2 13.8 0.0 0.4 1.8
Psychology 54.6 29.6 15.4 0.0 0.3 0.2
Other 56.1 23.6 17.5 0.0 1.2 1.7
Age at postsecondary entry
Under 20 55.6 28.4 14.3 0.0 0.8 0.8
20-24 39.8 16.1 41.9 0.3 0.5 1.6
25-29 39.2 20.1 37.2 0.0 0.0 3.4
30 or older 31.7 31.1 36.4 0.0 0.4 0.4
Ever taken remedial instruction
Yes 53.1 21.8 23.2 0.1 1.3 0.5
No 54.2 28.3 15.7 0.0 0.8 1.0
Cumulative undergraduate GPA*
Less than 3.0 59.6 22.9 16.2 0.0 0.7 0.6
3.0-3.49 54.3 29.0 14.9 0.0 0.9 0.9
3.5 or higher 47.7 31.5 18.7 0.0 0.9 1.3
Entrance examination score quartile
Bottom 25% 60.0 22.7 16.1 0.0 1.0 0.3
Middle 50% 58.6 28.7 11.5 0.0 0.9 0.3
Top 25% 55.0 38.3 6.1 0.0 0.3 0.3
No exam taken or no 45.4 23.4 27.8 0.1 0.9 2.5
score reported
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Self-reported.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
About half of first-time bachelor's degree recipients began their
postsecondary education at a public 4-year institution (54 percent);
another quarter started at a private, not-for profit 4-year institution
(28 percent); 16 percent began at a public 2-year college; and
the remainder began at other institutions (table 5).[8] Of those
who began at a public 2-year college, 30 percent completed an
associate's degree before earning a bachelor's degree (table 6).
[8] These figures change little when one excludes institutions attended only during the summer after high school and those attended only briefly (less than 3 months). For example, after implementing such a restriction, the number who began at public 2-year institutions drops to 15 percent, and the number who began at public 4-year institutions increases to 55 percent (U.S. Department of Education, , 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System).
Older entrants into postsecondary education were more likely than other bachelor's degree recipients to have begun in a public 2-year college. Graduates who began postsecondary education at age 20 or older were twice as likely as their younger counterparts to have begun at such institutions (36 to 42 percent of those who began postsecondary education at age 20 or older, compared with 14 percent of graduates who began at age 19 or younger) (table 5).
Institution of origin was also related to prior preparation. For example, graduates who reported that they had taken remedial instruction in college were more likely than those with no remedial coursework to have begun their postsecondary education in a public 2-year institution (23 versus 16 percent). Similarly, students who scored in the bottom quartile on entrance examinations were more likely than those scoring in the middle or upper quartiles to have begun in a public 2-year institution, while those who scored in the top quartile were more likely to have begun at a private, not-for-profit 4-year institution.
Despite the relationship between graduates' prior preparation
and whether they began postsecondary education at a public 2-year
institution, there was no systematic relationship between their
grades at the degree-granting institution and whether they began
at a public 2-year institution.[9] Among students who began postsecondary
education at a 4-year institution, however, there was a relationship
between college grades and whether they began at a public or at
a private, not-for-profit institution: students whose cumulative
GPA was 3.5 or higher were less likely than those with lower grades
to have begun at a public institution, while those with GPAs below
3.0 were less likely than others to have begun at a private, not-for-profit
institution.
[9] This remains true after controlling for major: cumulative and major GPAs did not differ significantly for those who began postsecondary education in a public 2-year institution versus those who began in a 4-year institution. The one exception was for those who majored in public affairs/social services-in which case 2-year college entrants had higher cumulative GPAs (U.S. Department of Education, , 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System).
Students who majored in the arts and sciences were more likely
than those in other majors to have begun postsecondary education
at a private, not-for-profit 4-year institution (34 percent versus
about 24 percent of other majors), and were less likely than other
majors to have begun in a public 2-year institution (13 percent
versus 18 percent of other majors).
Table 6-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to prior attainment, by attendance characteristics: 1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associate's
None Certificate degree
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 76.3 13.5 10.2
Number of institutions attended
One 86.3 11.3 2.4
Two or more 67.3 15.5 17.2
First postsecondary institution
Public
4-year 81.1 13.8 5.1
2-year 56.2 14.4 29.5
Less-than-2-year - - -
Private, not-for-profit
4-year 84.5 11.1 4.3
Less-than-4-year 56.8 17.4 25.8
Private, for-profit 72.1 8.5 19.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Time to Degree Completion
The average number of years between high school graduation and
completion of the bachelor's degree (an indirect measure of time
to degree) has been increasing. The proportion of bachelor's degree
completers graduating within 4 years after high school declined
from 45 percent to 31 percent between 1977 and 1990, and the proportion
completing their degrees more than 6 years after high school increased
from 25 percent to 32 percent. [10]
[10] The Condition of Education, 1993 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, , 1993): 26. Since this measure includes nonenrolled time between high school and entry into postsecondary education, at least some of the change is due to increased participation and completion by nontraditional students. In the early 1980s, in response to falling numbers of high school graduates, many colleges bolstered sagging enrollments by recruiting more adult students. Thus, it is possible that increases in the time between high school and college graduation do not signify increases in the amount of time actually required to complete the bachelor's degree.
Increases in the time to complete a bachelor's degree have been
attributed to a number of factors. Between 1977 and 1990, the
proportion of undergraduates attending part time grew from 37
percent to 42 percent.[11] This change in the composition of the
student body has directly increased the average time to degree.
Furthermore, as older students return to college and complete
degrees in greater numbers, time to degree as measured from high
school graduation necessarily increases.[12] A recent analysis
of two high school cohorts a decade apart suggests that increased
time to degree is not solely due to more part-time or older students-it
also reflects increased course taking. In analyzing postsecondary
transcripts from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School
Class of 1972 and the High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort
(most of whom completed high school in 1982), Adelman found the
average number of credits earned by bachelor's degree completers
rose from 126 to 139 credits between the two cohorts.[13] Other
factors that have been cited as increasing time to degree include
difficulty enrolling in required courses, as institutions have
reduced course offerings in response to budget cuts; growing numbers
of students who work while enrolled; increased rates of course
withdrawal and noncredit repetition; and increased participation
in remedial and developmental courses.[14]
[11] A. McCormick, S. Geis, and R. Vergun, Profile of Part-Time Students in U.S. Postsecondary Education: 1989-90 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1994).
[12] Between 1970 and 1991, the proportion of undergraduates age 25 or older grew from 28 to 45 percent. See S. Choy and M. Premo, Profile of Older Undergraduates: 1989-90 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, , 1995).
[13] Clifford Adelman, The New College Course Map and Transcript Files (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).
[14] "Fewer Students Get Bachelor's Degrees in 4 Years, Study Finds," Chronicle of Higher Education (July 15, 1992): A29.
Outcome measures and sample definition
Time to degree is measured in two ways in this report: time elapsed
between high school graduation and bachelor's degree completion,
and time elapsed between entry into postsecondary education and
bachelor's degree completion. As measures of elapsed time, both
may include periods of nonenrollment and should not be interpreted
as direct measures of time in school. The first measure includes
two types of nonenrolled periods: those occurring between high
school graduation and entry into postsecondary education, and
those occurring between postsecondary entry and college graduation
(i.e., vacations and stopout periods). This measure is useful
primarily because it affords comparisons to time series data from
the Recent College Graduates surveys. The second measure includes
only enrollment gaps occurring after entry into postsecondary
education, and will be the focus for most of the analysis of time
to degree.[15]
[15] In the 1991 Recent College Graduates survey (RCG:91), respondents were asked when they began work on their bachelor's degree. These data were reported in The Condition of Education, 1993 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995), p. 26. This is not strictly comparable to the B&B measure of time from postsecondary entry to degree completion.
For the following analysis of time to degree, the sample was restricted
to first-time bachelor's degree recipients: those graduates who
did not hold any prior bachelor's or higher level degree. This
restriction excluded about 6.6 percent of all 1992-93 bachelor's
degree recipients. For analyses examining time between entry into
postsecondary education and degree receipt, the sample was further
restricted to exclude students with substantial periods between
institutions when they were not enrolled. This restriction is
explained in detail in the section "Interruptions in enrollment."
Timing of entry into postsecondary education
Among 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients, 9 out of 10 began postsecondary education within 1 year of high school graduation. The remaining 10 percent were distributed roughly evenly over the following intervals between high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment: 1 to 2 years (3 percent), 2 to 5 years (3 percent), and 5 or more years (4 percent) (table 7).
Although public 2-year colleges serve a less traditional student
population than 4-year institutions, the population of bachelor's
degree recipients who began at such institutions included a large
number of traditional students with respect to timing of entry
into postsecondary education-79 percent entered college in the
first year after high school.[16] This finding highlights the
difference between the overall population of 2-year college students
and the select group of 2-year college beginners who transfer
to a 4-year institution and complete a bachelor's degree.
[16] By contrast, 48 percent of all students attending public 2-year institutions in 1992-93 began postsecondary education within a year of high school. See L. Horn and M. Premo, Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Institutions: 1992-93 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).
Nontraditional students (including older students who may have
delayed their entry into postsecondary education, as well as students
who return to college after an extended period out of school)
are less likely to be represented among bachelor's degree completers
for two reasons. First, they are less likely to be working toward
a bachelor's degree at all. Second, among those intending to complete
a bachelor's degree, nontraditional students are at greater risk
for attrition, and thus are less represented among completers.[17]
Nevertheless, those graduates who began at public 2-year colleges
were less likely than others to have entered postsecondary education
in the first year after high school: the comparable figure for
4-year institutions is 93 percent.
[17] L. Berkner, S. Cuccaro-Alamin, and A. McCormick, Descriptive Summary of 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Five Years Later (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996). L. Horn, A Study of Nontraditional Undergraduates (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, , 1996).
In addition to institution of origin, there were also differences in timing of postsecondary entry according to the institutions where bachelor's degree recipients received their degrees: those from doctorate-granting institutions were more likely than others to have begun postsecondary education within 1 year of high school (92 percent of graduates from doctoral institutions versus 86 to 88 percent of those from nondoctoral institutions).
Students with highly educated parents were more likely to enroll
within 1 year of high school graduation than were students whose
parents had less education. This reflects not only socioeconomic
differences but also two other factors: graduates whose parents
had lower educational attainment were more likely to be older,
and older graduates were more likely to have delayed entry.[18]
[18] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Table 7-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by selected student and enrollment characteristics: 1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less At least 1, At least 2, 5 years
than less than less than or
1 year 2 years 5 years more
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 89.7 3.1 3.3 3.9
First postsecondary institution
Public
4-year 93.4 2.4 2.0 2.2
2-year 78.9 4.7 7.5 9.0
Less-than-2-year - - - -
Private, notforprofit
4-year 93.2 2.5 1.8 2.5
Less-than-4-year 96.6 0.0 2.6 0.7
Private, forprofit 82.8 4.8 4.1 8.4
Degree-granting institution
Public 4-year
Nondoctorate-granting 87.7 3.3 3.8 5.3
Doctorate-granting 91.8 2.9 2.7 2.5
Private, not-for-profit 4year
Nondoctorate-granting 85.5 3.6 4.9 6.0
Doctorate-granting 92.1 2.8 2.2 3.0
Other 88.0 3.5 4.9 3.6
Parents' educational attainment
Less than high school 61.8 8.4 10.1 19.7
High school or equivalency 84.4 4.4 4.5 6.7
Some postsecondary education 91.3 2.9 3.1 2.8
Bachelor's degree 94.8 2.0 2.2 1.1
Advanced degree 95.5 2.3 1.6 0.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Time between high school graduation and bachelor's degree completion
As noted at the beginning of this section, analyses of RCG data have shown a substantial increase in time from high school graduation to bachelor's degree receipt between 1977 and 1990. Table 8 presents comparable B&B data for 1992-93 graduates, and a time series using both RCG and B&B data is presented in figure 4.
Thirty-one percent of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients earned the degree within 4 years of their high school graduation, and another 28 percent graduated between 4 and 5 years after finishing high school (figure 4). At the other extreme, 30 percent received their degree more than 6 years after finishing high school. These data are very similar to RCG figures from 1990, the last year for which comparable data are available.
As would be expected from the findings on delayed entry, time
from high school graduation to degree receipt varied substantially
according to students' point of entry into postsecondary education.
Those who started at a private, not-for-profit 4-year institution
were twice as likely as others to complete their degree within
4 years of high school graduation (57 percent versus not more
than 27 percent of those who started at other types of institutions).
By contrast, students who began in public 2-year institutions
were more likely than those who began at 4-year institutions to
complete their degree more than 10 years after high school. This
reflects several factors that are especially common among 2-year
college entrants: delayed entry, part-time attendance, and discontinuity
of enrollment.[19]
[19] L. Berkner, S. Cuccaro-Alamin, and A. McCormick, Descriptive Summary of 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Five Years Later (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996).
Table 8-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to time between high school graduation and degree completion, by first postsecondary institution attended: 1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More More More More
than 4, than 5, than 6, than
4 years up to up to up to 10
or less 5 years 6 years 10 years years
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 31.1 27.6 11.2 12.7 17.4
First postsecondary institution
Public
4-year 27.1 35.9 13.2 12.2 11.7
2-year 11.9 21.6 14.8 22.3 29.4
Less-than-2-year - - - - -
Private, not-for-profit
4-year 56.7 20.3 6.1 6.4 10.6
Less-than-4-year 21.3 26.7 17.8 11.6 22.6
Private, forprofit 23.5 15.3 5.4 13.9 42.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Figure 4--Percentage distribution of college graduates completing the baccalaureate degree within various years of graduating from high school: 1977, 1986, 1990, and 1993 graduates
SOURCE: Recent College Graduate surveys (1977, 1986, and
1990 graduates), and U.S. Department of Education, National Center
for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Interruptions in enrollment
As previously noted, both measures of elapsed time to degree can
include periods when students were not enrolled. By focusing the
analysis on time from postsecondary entry to degree completion,
the confounding effect of gaps between secondary and postsecondary
education can be eliminated. Since the B&B data set includes
starting and ending dates for each undergraduate institution attended,
gaps in enrollment occurring between institutions can also be
identified.[20]
[20] Gaps in enrollment followed by a return to the same institutions cannot be identified because term-by-term attendance data for each institution attended are not available.
For this analysis, transitions between institutions that included
at least 4 consecutive months without enrollment were identified
as periods of stopout between institutions. The total number of
months of between-institution stopout was then calculated, allowing
students with substantial gaps in enrollment between institutions
to be identified.[21]
[21] Students with no between-institution stopout may nevertheless have gaps in enrollment that were followed by a return to an institution previously attended.
Between-institution stopout is only possible for students who
attended more than one institution (53 percent of all first-time
bachelor's degree recipients). Students who began postsecondary
education at a less-than-4-year institution necessarily attended
more than one institution before completing the bachelor's degree.
Among students who began at a 4-year institution, 37 percent attended
more than one institution before receiving their degree (table
9).
Table 9-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients who began postsecondary education at a 4-year institution according to the number of institutions attended, by type of institution first attended: 1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two or
One more
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 63.1 36.9
First postsecondary institution
Public 62.4 37.6
Private, not-for-profit 64.8 35.2
Private, for-profit 53.5 46.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Among all first-time bachelor's degree recipients, three-quarters
had no gaps of 4 months or longer between institutions, and an
additional 8 percent had one gap of 4 or 5 months (about 1 semester)
between institutions (table 10). Among the more restricted group
for whom between-institution stopout is possible (i.e., those
who attended more than one institution), 52 percent had no gaps
between institutions, and another 16 percent had a gap of 4 or
5 months (figure 5). At the other extreme, 19 percent of students
who attended more than one institution had at least 2 years' worth
of enrollment gaps between institutions (table 10).[22]
[22] This could be a single gap of at least 2 years' duration, or a combination of shorter gaps between institutions.
Students who delayed their initial entry into postsecondary education
by 1 year or more were almost three times as likely to experience
substantial interruptions in enrollment between institutions as
well: 22 percent of delayed entrants had 2 years' worth of enrollment
gaps between institutions, compared with 8 percent of those who
began postsecondary education within 1 year of high school graduation.
Table 10-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to total number of months stopped out between institutions, by selected student and enrollment characteristics: 1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No stopouts 24
lasting months
4 months 4-5 6-23 or
or more/1 months months more
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 76.2 7.9 6.7 9.2
Time between high school graduation
and postsecondary education
Less than 1 year 78.2 7.9 6.1 7.8
One year or more 57.5 8.1 12.3 22.1
Number of institutions attended
One 100.0 (2) (2) (2)
Two or more 51.7 16.0 13.6 18.7
Ever taken remedial instruction
Yes 71.1 10.1 7.6 11.3
No 76.1 7.8 6.7 9.4
First postsecondary institution
Public
4-year 85.0 4.4 4.0 6.7
2-year 44.4 19.4 17.3 18.9
Less-than-2-year - - - -
Private, not-for-profit
4-year 85.6 6.2 3.4 4.9
Less-than-4-year 38.6 26.4 15.6 19.5
Private, forprofit 51.3 0.9 21.6 26.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
/1/Includes all students who attended only one institution, as well as those who attended more than one institution but had no gaps of 4 months or longer between institutions.
/2/Not applicable.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Students who began postsecondary education at a 4-year institution
were more likely than others to have progressed toward the degree
without any periods of stopout between institutions (about 85
percent, versus 39 to 51 percent of others). This can partially
be explained by the fact that many of those who began at a 4-year
institution received their degree from the same institution, while
others necessarily made a transition between institutions. Parallel
to the findings for age at entry, students who began postsecondary
education at a public 2-year institution were nearly three times
as likely as those who began at a 4-year institution to have had
at least 2 years' worth of enrollment interruption between institutions
(19 percent versus 5 to 7 percent).
Figure 5-Between-institution stopout among first-time bachelor's degree recipients: 1992-93
*Total number of months stopped out between institutions, counting only gaps of at least 4 months' duration. "No stopouts lasting 4 months or more" includes all students who attended only one institution.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
The influence of between-institution stopout on elapsed time to degree can be seen in table 11. In particular, note the proportions of students completing their degrees more than 6 years after beginning postsecondary education. Overall, about one-quarter of bachelor's degree recipients took more than 6 years to complete their degree (26 percent). This is strongly related to between-institution stopout, however: about one out of eight students who had no substantial between-institution stopout took more than 6 years to complete their degree, compared with three-quarters of those whose between-institution stopout was 6 months or more. Clearly, a large number of those who stopped out for a total of 6 months or more interrupted their enrollment for an extended period.
Because between-institution stopout so strongly affects elapsed
time to degree, the remainder of the analysis of time to degree
will be restricted to first-time bachelor's degree recipients
who had less than 6 months of stopout between institutions (about
85 percent of the total).
Table 11-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients according to time between entry into postsecondary education and degree completion, by total number of months stopped out between institutions: 1992-93
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 years More than 4, More than 5,
or up to up to More than
less 5 years 6 years 6 years
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 35.5 27.9 11.0 25.6
Total months stopped out between institutions
No stopouts lasting 4 months or more* 44.6 31.3 10.7 13.4
4-5 months 27.2 38.1 16.0 18.7
6 months or more 1.8 10.6 10.6 77.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Includes all students who attended only one institution, as well as those who attended more than one institution but had no gaps of 4 months or longer between institutions.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Time between entry into postsecondary education and bachelor's degree completion
This section examines time from postsecondary entry to degree completion for those 1992-93 first-time bachelor's degree recipients who had less than 6 months of stopout between institutions-that is, those for whom elapsed time to degree does not include large gaps between institutions. For simplicity, this group will hereafter be identified as "steady-progress graduates" or "steady-progress bachelor's degree recipients." Since this restriction pertains only to gaps between institutions, however, the reader should bear in mind that the steady-progress group may include students who had within-institution stopout periods (i.e., interruptions in enrollment followed by a return to the same institution).
Table 12 reports time to degree as a percentage distribution,
while table 13 reports the average number of years to degree completion.
This discussion is organized around the percentage distribution
figures, with occasional reference to the averages. Overall, about
43 percent of steady-progress graduates completed their degree
within 4 years of beginning postsecondary education. Another 32
percent took between 4 and 5 years to graduate, and 11 percent
took from 5 to 6 years. The remaining 14 percent received their
degree more than 6 years after they began postsecondary education.
Table 12-Percentage distribution of first-time bachelor's degree recipients with less than 6 months of stopout between institutions according to time between entry into postsecondary education and degree completion, by selected student and enrollment characteristics: 1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More More
than 4, than 5,
4 years up to up to More than
or less 5 years 6 years 6 years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 43.0 31.9 11.2 13.9
Gender
Male 37.0 35.2 13.5 14.3
Female 48.1 29.1 9.2 13.6
Race-ethnicity
American Indian/Alaskan Native 38.9 31.4 8.1 21.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 38.4 38.3 11.9 11.4
Black, nonHispanic 31.7 32.6 17.4 18.4
Hispanic 27.7 34.3 15.0 23.0
White, nonHispanic 44.9 31.3 10.5 13.2
Baccalaureate degree major
Professional fields 37.2 35.3 11.4 16.1
Business and management 41.4 33.9 8.5 16.2
Education 38.5 35.2 11.2 15.1
Engineering 28.1 42.3 15.6 14.1
Health professions 29.0 34.1 17.3 19.7
Public affairs/social services 38.0 32.4 12.6 17.1
Arts and sciences 51.1 26.2 10.9 11.8
Biological sciences 57.4 22.2 9.0 11.5
Mathematics and other sciences 45.6 26.7 11.4 16.3
Social science 54.2 25.9 9.8 10.1
History 51.2 25.6 18.4 4.8
Humanities 49.0 26.6 12.8 11.5
Psychology 47.2 31.4 7.3 14.0
Other 43.0 34.2 11.1 11.7
Time between high school graduation
and postsecondary education
Less than 1 year 45.2 32.5 10.8 11.5
One year or more 17.0 24.0 16.5 42.6
Ever taken remedial instruction
Yes 26.9 32.0 18.1 23.1
No 44.2 32.1 10.4 13.3
Cumulative undergraduate GPA*
Less than 3.0 30.0 36.8 16.5 16.7
3.0-3.49 46.5 33.1 9.2 11.2
3.5 or higher 54.4 22.6 7.6 15.5
Total undergraduate debt
Did not borrow 47.9 30.2 10.3 11.6
Less than $1,000 32.1 34.7 13.7 19.5
$1,000-4,999 35.5 34.9 11.2 18.4
$5,000-9,999 35.6 34.0 11.9 18.6
$10,000-19,999 40.0 32.4 13.5 14.2
$20,000 or more 42.6 36.8 8.7 12.0
Entrance examination score quartile
Bottom 25% 35.3 39.7 13.0 12.0
Middle 50% 47.5 34.2 10.4 7.9
Top 25% 61.0 25.7 7.9 5.5
No exam taken or no 27.6 27.6 13.7 31.1
score reported
Degree-granting institution
Public 4-year 33.5 37.5 13.8 15.2
Nondoctorate-granting 28.8 37.4 15.6 18.2
Doctorate-granting 35.8 37.6 12.8 13.8
Private, not-for-profit 4-year 64.8 19.1 5.2 10.9
Nondoctorate-granting 63.0 19.0 4.8 13.3
Doctorate-granting 67.0 19.1 5.8 8.0
Other 28.9 9.6 16.1 17.2
First postsecondary institution
Public
4-year 35.2 39.0 13.0 12.9
2-year 23.5 31.4 18.7 26.5
Less-than-2-year - - - -
Private, not-for-profit
4-year 67.0 18.9 4.6 9.6
Less-than-4-year 44.5 29.0 13.3 13.2
Private, for-profit 67.7 15.2 2.0 15.0
Number of institutions attended
One 50.7 29.6 9.0 10.8
Two or more 31.4 35.4 14.6 18.7
Transfer of credit
Began at sample institution or
did not transfer credits 48.9 30.2 9.2 11.7
Began elsewhere and transferred
credits
Transferred less than 10%
of credits 30.0 33.5 21.2 15.4
Transferred 10-25% of credits 27.5 46.1 14.3 12.0
Transferred 26-50% of credits 21.2 38.8 19.3 20.6
Transferred more than 50%
of credits 20.9 31.9 16.5 30.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
*Self-reported.
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Table 13-Among first-time bachelor's degree recipients with less than 6 months of stopout between institutions, average number of years between postsecondary entry and degree receipt according to type of degree-granting institution, by selected student and enrollment characteristics: 1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private,
not-for-
Public profit
Total 4-year 4-year Other*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.2
Gender
Male 5.2 5.3 4.9 5.1
Female 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.2
Time between high school graduation and
postsecondary education
Less than 1 year 5.0 5.2 4.6 5.1
One year or more 7.7 7.3 8.6 -
Ever taken remedial instruction
Yes 6.1 6.4 5.2 -
No 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.2
Total undergraduate debt
Did not borrow 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.5
Less than $1,000 5.6 5.7 - -
$1,000-4,999 5.5 5.5 5.7 -
$5,000-9,999 5.5 5.4 5.7 -
$10,000-19,999 5.2 5.9 4.4 -
$20,000 or more 4.9 5.6 4.4 -
Number of institutions attended
One 5.0 5.1 4.8 5.1
Two or more 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.3
Transfer of credit
Began at sample institution or
did not transfer credits 5.0 5.2 4.7 5.5
Began elsewhere and transferred
credits
Transferred less than 10% of credits 5.8 5.8 - -
Transferred 10-25% of credits 5.0 5.0 5.1 -
Transferred 26-50% of credits 5.7 5.8 5.5 -
Transferred more than 50% of credits 6.6 6.3 7.8 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.
*Includes graduates of private, for-profit institutions and of institutions of unknown type (i.e., 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients who were sampled from an institution other than the degree-granting one).
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
Gender and race-ethnicity
Among steady-progress graduates, women were more likely than men
to have completed their degree within 4 years (48 versus 37 percent).
There was no gender difference with respect to completion after
6 years or average time to degree, however.[23]
[23] This apparent contradiction is explained by the difference in average time to degree among men and women who took more than 6 years to complete the degree-10.3 years for men versus 12.0 years for women (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System).
The only racial-ethnic differences in 4-year completion rates
among steady-progress graduates were between white, non-Hispanic
graduates (45 percent) and both black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic
graduates (32 percent and 28 percent, respectively).[24] With
respect to completion in more than 6 years, the only difference
was between white, non-Hispanic and Hispanic graduates (13 percent
versus 23 percent).[25]
[24] Although the differences in 4-year completion rates among other groups reported in table 12 appear large, they are not statistically significant due to the standard errors associated with the estimates. See appendix A for details about procedures used to test for statistically significant differences.
[25] The difference between Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Alaskan Natives, though large, is not statistically significant.
Timing of entry and preparation for college
Time to degree was related to both students' preparation for college and to when they began their postsecondary education. Steady-progress graduates who began their postsecondary education more than 1 year after high school were less likely than others to complete their degree within 4 years, and were almost three times as likely to take at least 6 years to do so (17 percent of delayed entrants graduated within 4 years, compared with 45 percent of those who did not delay; 43 percent of delayed entrants took more than 6 years to graduate, compared with 12 percent of those who did not delay). On average, delayed entrants took 7.7 years to complete their degree, compared with 5 years for those who did not delay entry into postsecondary education (table 13). This probably reflects both increases in part-time enrollment and in enrollment at less-than-4-year institutions among delayed entrants. (The relationship between institutions attended and time to degree is explored in the following section.)
Students who scored in the top quartile on college entrance examinations were much more likely than others to complete their degree in 4 years (61 percent who scored in the top quartile graduated in 4 years, compared with 35 to 48 percent of those who scored in the bottom and middle quartiles, respectively). A similar relationship existed with respect to college grades: students with higher GPAs were more likely than other students to graduate within 4 years.
Participation in remedial instruction was also related to time
to degree: 23 percent of those who took remedial courses took
more than 6 years to graduate, compared with 13 percent of those
with no remedial coursework. As one might expect, an inverse pattern
holds with respect to completion within 4 years: 44 percent of
those with no remediation graduated within 4 years, compared with
27 percent of those who had done remedial or developmental work.
On average, students who had taken remedial instruction took about
1 year longer than other students to complete their degree (6.1
versus 5.2 years) (table 13). It is likely that this reflects
a number of factors: that a large number of students in need of
remediation began their postsecondary education at institutions
where part-time study is more common, such as public 2-year institutions;
that some students in need of remediation may have interrupted
their enrollment and later returned to the same institution; and
that remedial courses may have been noncredit courses.
Institutions attended
Steady-progress bachelor's degree recipients who began postsecondary education at a private, not-for-profit 4-year institution were much more likely than those who began at a public 2- or 4-year institution to complete their degree within 4 years (67 percent compared with 24 percent of public 2-year entrants and 35 percent of public 4-year entrants) (table 12). At the other extreme, steady-progress graduates who began at public 2-year institutions were more likely than those who started at 4-year institutions to take 6 or more years to complete their degree (27 percent of community college starters versus 10 to 13 percent of 4-year starters).
Matching the findings for institution of entry, steady-progress
graduates of private, not-for-profit institutions were far more
likely than graduates of public institutions to have received
their degree within 4 years of starting postsecondary education
(65 percent versus 34 percent) (table 12 and figure 6). This difference
was also reflected with respect to longer completion times: graduation
after more than 6 years was more common among steady-progress
graduates of public institutions than among their counterparts
from private, not-for-profit institutions. On average, steady-progress
graduates of public institutions took 5.3 years to complete their
degree, about 1 semester longer than graduates of private, not-for-profit
institutions (table 13). A more direct estimate of time to degree
at public and private, not-for-profit 4-year institutions is possible
by comparing the average time to degree for graduates of each
type of institution who attended only one institution. For this
group, it took students in both types of institutions about 5
years to complete their degree.[26]
[26] While the average time to degree appears larger at public institutions, there is insufficient evidence that this reflects systematic differences in time to degree at the two types of institutions.
As noted earlier, half of all 1992-93 first-time bachelor's degree
recipients attended more than one institution before completing
their degree. Those who attended more than one institution include
two groups of students: those who began at one institution and
later entered the institution where they earned their degree (with
or without a transfer of credits) and those who began at the institution
where they earned a degree, but at some time enrolled elsewhere
to participate in a special program or to complete needed credits.[27]
[27] See "Double Dippers," The Chronicle of Higher Education (August 4, 1995): A27. Three-quarters of those who attended more than one institution began their postsecondary education somewhere other than the sample institution (compendium table I.12).
Figure 6-Time from postsecondary entry to bachelor's degree for graduates with less than 6 months of stopout between institutions, by types of institutions attended: 1992-93
NOTE: Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding. The number of bachelor's degree recipients who began at public less-than-2-year institutions and had less than 6 months of between-institution stopout was too small to produce a reliable estimate of time to degree.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal
Study First Followup (B&B:93/94), Data Analysis System.
One-third of those who attended more than one institution completed a subbaccalaureate credential (16 percent completed an undergraduate certificate, and 17 percent completed an associate's degree) (table 6).
Attendance at more than one institution was strongly related to
time to degree. Those who attended more than one institution were
far less likely than those who attended a single institution to
graduate within 4 years of postsecondary entry (31 percent versus
51 percent), and were more likely to take over 6 years to complete
their degree (table 12). Moreover, this relationship persists
after taking transfer of credit into account. Transcript data
were used to identify the amount of credits transferred by students
who began postsecondary education at some institution other than
the one where they received their bachelor's degree. Even among
steady-progress graduates, students who changed institutions and
transferred credits were less likely than others to graduate within
4 years of beginning their postsecondary education.[28]
[28] The comparison group includes all students who began postsecondary education at the sample institution (regardless of whether they transferred any credits), plus any students who began at a different institution but did not transfer any credits.
Major field of study
There were also differences in time to degree according to major
field of study. For example, steady-progress graduates receiving
degrees in the biological sciences were more likely than business,
education, engineering, health professions, or public affairs/social
services majors to complete their degree within 4 years (57 percent
of biological science majors, compared with 28 to 41 percent of
the other majors listed) (table 12). Majors in the health professions
and in engineering were less likely than arts and sciences majors
to complete within 4 years (28 percent of engineering and 29 percent
of health professions majors, versus 51 percent of arts and sciences
majors). Shorter completion times for biological science majors
may reflect the presence of premedical students who may be especially
motivated to advance to their professional training, while longer
times for engineering majors may reflect the presence of students
in 5-year programs.[29]
[29] The B&B data do not identify students who are enrolled in 5-year programs.
Debt
Time to degree may also be related to whether students borrowed
to finance their undergraduate education. For example, students
with unmet financial need who are unwilling to incur additional
debt may enroll part time or interrupt their enrollment so they
can work longer hours to increase their earnings. Steady-progress
graduates who accumulated between $1,000 and $20,000 of debt were
less likely than those with no debt to graduate within 4 years
(35 to 40 percent versus 48 percent among those who did not borrow)
(table 12). At the other extreme, those who borrowed between $1,000
and $10,000 were more likely than nonborrowers to take more than
6 years to complete their degree. Nonborrowers and those with
lighter (less than $1,000) or heavier (more than $20,000) debt
burdens did not differ with respect to time to degree, nor were
there differences among borrowers with different amounts of debt.[30]
[30] Although there appears to be a difference in time to degree between nonborrowers and those who borrowed less than $1,000, the latter is a very small group, and there is insufficient evidence that this reflects a systematic difference between the two groups.
Among steady-progress graduates of private, not-for-profit institutions
(where costs and student debt burdens are highest), those who
borrowed at least $10,000 averaged 4.4 years from postsecondary
entry to degree completion, compared with 5.7 years for those
who borrowed between $1,000 and $10,000 (table 13). Again, those
with lower debt may have chosen to stop out or to attend part
time to increase their earnings rather than take more loans to
control their costs, lengthening the time required to complete
their degree.[31]
[31] Recall that the steady-progress group can include students who interrupted their enrollment but returned to the same institution.
Conclusion
The traditional notion of a bachelor's degree as a 4-year degree
no longer matches the experience of the majority of bachelor's
degree completers. Only 36 percent of 1992-93 bachelor's degree
recipients completed their degree within 4 years of beginning
postsecondary education. Even when one excludes students who took
time out between institutions, less than half (45 percent) completed
their degree within 4 years (table 11). A number of factors are
clearly related to time to degree. Students who delayed their
entry into postsecondary education took longer to complete their
degree, as did those who began postsecondary education at a less-than-4-year
institution. Attendance at more than one institution was also
associated with increased time to degree, even after controlling
for the proportion of total credits that were transferred. These
findings may reflect part-time attendance and difficulties in
sustaining continuous enrollment for students who have significant
responsibilities that may conflict with their student role (e.g.,
family and career responsibilities).[32]
[32] The effect of part-time attendance could not be examined directly, since B&B data do not include data on enrollment status over the duration of postsecondary enrollment.
