Four years not enough for many

The “fifth-year senior” is a phrase that is oxymoronic and yet has recently become an accepted explanation of status on college campuses worldwide.

The fifth-year, or more, senior is a growing phenomenon that has swept GC&SU in recent years and appears to be expanding rapidly. Less than 40 percent of entering freshman in 1999 took six years to graduate, according to Dr. Michael Gass, director of Institutional Research at GC&SU. It is now predicted that nearly 50 percent of the current freshman class will be calling GC&SU home for the next six years.

Usually followed by a laugh, the phrase “I’m a fifth-year senior” has become a nation-wide trend, and GC&SU is not immune to the growing trend of students leisurely making their way through college.

“It’s not that I’m lazy; it’s that I just don’t care,” said Nicholas Grodzicki, a fifth-year senior business major.

Grodzicki went on to explain that with his parent’s financial support, he has been able to take his time with school and enjoy being in college.

The Board of Regents has conducted studies that have determined education trends of students from every college across Georgia.

Of the 721 entering freshman at GC&SU in 1996, only 16.8 percent graduated in four years.

Nearly double that figure graduated in five years. And it took six years for 34 percent of that class to earn a degree from this college. While those numbers may seem high, that’s about average for the entering freshman classes of 1996.

In that same year, the entering freshman classes at The University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University included more than 3,000 students each. Forty percent of UGA’s 1996 freshman graduated in four years, but only 12 percent of Georgia Southern’s freshman achieved the same feat. And it took six years for 36 percent of that class to graduate from Georgia Southern University. In the same six years, 70 percent of UGA’s 1996 freshman had graduated.

The average student at GC&SU is about 22 years old, according to the Board of Regents. An average age of about 21 years is maintained by UGA and GSU.

An interesting statistic offered by the Board of Regents is that among Georgia colleges, the senior enrollment numbers rival the freshman enrollment numbers. Students changing schools during their senior year can cause their time in college to be extended. Transferring students may lose hours and therefore gain semesters in their education, which can be a contributing factor to the “fifth year senior” trend.

“I transferred here from a college in New Hampshire to play basketball,” said Roland Williams, a fifth-year sociology senior. “Some of the hours didn’t transfer completely, and I took a lighter load to focus on basketball. I knew I’d need extra time to finish up.”

Another possible set back to the four-year plan is in the selection of a major. The Board of Regents Web site shows that statistically the vast majority of entering freshman statewide begin their college careers with undeclared majors. Eventually, those students are dispersed among numerous majors, which are typically changed more than once before a student graduates.

Such indecisiveness can require a student to spend more time in college to complete required classes for their new major.

Brandon Jackson explained the reason for his delayed graduation.

“I dropped too many classes during my first three years, but at least I didn’t fail any,” Jackson said. He will graduate in four and a half years.

Dropping classes, possibly a trend of its own, can delay graduation a great deal. Many of fifth-year seniors admitted that they have dropped classes in the past. But Jackson fits the profile of the average GC&SU student. According to Gass and the official graduation, enrollment and registration records of GC&SU, the average student takes four and a half years.

While students in four-year colleges and universities in Georgia are continuing to take longer to graduate, students in two-year colleges are taking less time to complete requirements. According to the Board of Regents, it was taking three years for 29 percent of students to graduate from their two-year college in Georgia in 1995. That trend has decreased. Four years later, only 27 percent were taking three years at a two-year college.

If the fifth-year senior trend continues to progress, Gass predicts that the percentage of students taking more than four years to graduate will continue to rise, and some current fifth year seniors don’t see anything wrong with that.

“You’ve got to enjoy college; you only get to come here once,” said fifth-year senior Richard “Skip” Aaron. “I’ll be here as long as I can.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 18 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry