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Graduation Guarantees: Contracting for Success or Failure?

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Graduation Guarantees: Contracting for Success or Failure?
Language: English
Authors: Witthuhn, Burton O., Carson, Jamie L.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 5
Publication Date: 1997
Document Type: Opinion Papers
Descriptors: Academic Persistence, Accountability, College Attendance, College Graduates, Degree Requirements, Educational Attainment, Graduation, Higher Education, School Holding Power, School Responsibility, Student College Relationship, Student Responsibility, Undergraduate Study
Abstract: The reasons for the phenomenon of guaranteed graduation are considered, as are criticisms of this approach. Guaranteed graduation programs have resulted in part as a result of an attempt to address issues and concerns about the cost of a college education, articulation of coursework, time to degree, and competency. While guarantees are designed to promote retention and tracking of students, they also specify students' responsibilities to fulfill program requirements, promising free or fixed tuition if the university fails to provide courses needed for the degree. This approach is also effective in marketing and recruitment. Criticisms concern whether guarantee programs are necessary and whether part-time and transfer students are eligible to participate. The guarantee phenomenon may be directed especially toward public higher education institutions, which have lower undergraduate completion rates than do private institutions. Guarantee programs have been developed in response to pressures from state legislators, parents, and taxpayers; some of the universities and states which have adopted this practice are identified. Students must be fully informed before signing a contract of expectations and responsibilities in terms of a guarantee, and the institution must be aware of implications of guarantees, such as providing courses, curriculum requirements, and issues of advising. (SW)
Entry Date: 1998
Accession Number: ED416746
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The reasons for the phenomenon of guaranteed graduation are considered, as are criticisms of this approach. Guaranteed graduation programs have resulted in part as a result of an attempt to address issues and concerns about the cost of a college education, articulation of coursework, time to degree, and competency. While guarantees are designed to promote retention and tracking of students, they also specify students' responsibilities to fulfill program requirements, promising free or fixed tuition if the university fails to provide courses needed for the degree. This approach is also effective in marketing and recruitment. Criticisms concern whether guarantee programs are necessary and whether part-time and transfer students are eligible to participate. The guarantee phenomenon may be directed especially toward public higher education institutions, which have lower undergraduate completion rates than do private institutions. Guarantee programs have been developed in response to pressures from state legislators, parents, and taxpayers; some of the universities and states which have adopted this practice are identified. Students must be fully informed before signing a contract of expectations and responsibilities in terms of a guarantee, and the institution must be aware of implications of guarantees, such as providing courses, curriculum requirements, and issues of advising. (SW)