UW and Wyoming colleges are implementing changes to help students apply for college, as well as successfully graduate on time.
The Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC), is collaborating with Casper Community College to conduct research on the effects of tuition hikes on students’ graduation timeline.
Although it is still in process, preliminary research has identified tuition freezes as a component for keeping students in college, WCCC Executive Director Jim Rose said.
“The roll of community college tuition is another strategy we are exploring now to see if it would be an incentive for students to complete more quickly,” Rose said. “The goal is to have students enroll so they don’t experience gaps and have to regroup and reorganize to resume academic process.”
WCCC sets the tuition for state community colleges annually, however, Rose said the commission is considering freezing tuition rates. In other words the price a freshman paid entering college would remain consistent throughout completion of their degree, being they are a full time student.
Researchers are exploring the unintended affects of tuition holds. A foreseeable issue is fees increasing to account for the decreased tuition, as the colleges set the fees and not the WCCC.
Thus far the WCCC has confirmed community college tuition will not be raised for next year, Rose said, adding that a long-term policy could be administrated as soon as September 2015.
The standard for completing an associate’s degree is two years or four semesters; however, less than 30 percent of students manage to do so in that time frame.
“There are numerous national and state data sets out there that demonstrate the fact that far too many community college students do not complete a credential on time, if ever,” Joe Schaffer, Laramie Community College president, said.
Another way to address the dropout and delayed completion dilemma is in high school. UW partnered with the Wyoming College Advising Corps (WyCAC) to place college access advisers in state high schools and community colleges. The advisers guide high school juniors and seniors through the college application process, as well as help community college students transition to universities, Teresa Nealon, College Access Challenge Grant director, said.
“The college advisers help to demystify the process of preparing academically for a career and post-secondary endeavors, and provide assistance in choosing a college that is a good fit,” she said.
UW is also collaborating with community colleges to make transitions for students smoother, Nealon said. Course level articulation has been the focus as of late; however, improved program-level articulation is the next step, she said.
“We believe this will help more students transition to UW better, as well as having them complete bachelor’s degrees at a higher rate, and with fewer credits and less time,” Nealon said.
