Although bachelor’s degrees are often referred to as four-year degrees, many students are finding it takes more than four years to earn a degree. In hopes of helping students graduate faster, the Associated Students of the University of Utah has been working on a “graduation guarantee.”
ASUU President Spencer Pearson said the new graduation guarantee will make graduation a less complicated process for students.
Under the program, a student will meet with an academic adviser at the beginning of his or her college career and map out a plan that will lead to graduation. The availability of classes is guaranteed by the advisers, Pearson said.
“For some people, a four-and-a-half or five-year time line will work better (than a four-year plan),” he said.
If students follow the plans they make with their adviser, meet with their adviser once a semester, pass all of their classes and still fail to graduate at the end of their mapped-out plans, the graduation guarantee will provide them with alternate routes to graduation.
If a certain course is unavailable, a substitute course may be found. If a student must take courses outside their original plan, the cost might be covered by individual departments. In some cases, a requirement might be waved all together.
Nathan Empey meets with his adviser every semester to ensure he is taking the right classes.
“I want to find out who the best professors are,” said Empey, a junior in accounting. “(The student advisers) help me to get the most out of my education.”
ASUU Vice President Basim Motiwala said the guarantee will not only help students graduate faster, but will help them find the best classes for their majors.
“This is a way of ensuring that students are getting in and out (of school) in a timely manner and not prolonging their academic careers,” Motiwala said.
After looking at programs from schools across the country, ASUU leaders are optimistic that a successful program can be established at the U. Rather than just imitating a specific program from another school, Pearson said he wants to have a program that’s specifically tailored to the U.
“If we can get things the way we like, we’ll have the most flexible program that we’ve seen,” Pearson said.
Before the graduation guarantee can take effect, it must be approved by U administrators. Pearson said plans for the guarantee are still changing, but he hopes to submit a proposal for approval by the end of 2007.