Attending Summer Session and Time to the Degree. AIR 2001 Annual Forum Paper.

The role of summer session attendance in time-to-degree was studied in a two-phase investigation. In the first phase, a survey was used to collect data from 10 universities on the entering class of 1992 who took a degree in arts and sciences. This cohort was followed to graduation periods of less than 4 years, 4 years, 5, years, 6 years, and more than 6 years. Survey items addressed time to complete bachelor's degree, gender, Scholastic Assessment Test scores, and grade point averages at the time of graduation. In the second phase of the study, telephone interviews were conducted with 33 students at the University of Virginia who graduated in less than 4 years. Findings from both phases show the important role summer session plays in providing opportunities for college students to complete their bachelor's degrees in 4 years. Summer session also plays an essential role in supporting students who wish to graduate in less than 4 years. Attending summer session did not deter academic achievement, and attendance in summer sessions had no gender preference. Financial pressures and the need to save money motivated students who completed their degrees in less than 4 years. The longer the time required for students to complete degrees, the more work and financial aid was needed to cover their expenses. The paper discusses the implications of reducing the time required to complete a degree program. (Contains 21 references.) (SLD)