[Paleopsych] CHE: On-Time Graduates to Get Cash Rewards

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On-Time Graduates to Get Cash Rewards
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5.4.8
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i31/31a03302.htm

    By PETER SCHMIDT

    In an attempt to cut costs and improve its graduation rate, Southern
    Illinois University at Carbondale plans to give $500 cash rewards to
    students who graduate within four years.

    Freshmen who enter the university this fall will be the first group of
    students eligible for the reward program, which the chancellor, Walter
    V. Wendler, announced in late March. Noting that only one in four
    students who enroll at his institution as freshmen graduates on time,
    he said, "We think that if this population was granted financial
    incentive, more students would complete in four years."

    The new program at Southern Illinois is one of many efforts by states
    and public colleges to prod students to complete their education in a
    timely manner, mainly as a way of dealing with space crunches and
    tight state budgets. Texas now pays off the college loans of some
    students who graduate on time.

    The California State University System has stiffened the requirements
    for students seeking to transfer to one of its campuses, to cut down
    on the number of credits that they will need to take after enrolling.

    The University of Florida, one of the first institutions to develop
    policies intended to encourage on-time graduation, has since 1996
    guaranteed students a slot in any course required for their majors.

    Mr. Wendler said the reward program would help students save money in
    addition to helping the bottom line at Southern Illinois, which covers
    a larger share of students' college costs than it draws in tuition.

    The university receives less state support for undergraduate education
    than it did three years ago, and is under pressure to cut costs,
    campus officials said.

    Mr. Wendler said the new program, called the Finish in Four
    Scholarships, will provide students who are on track to graduate on
    time with $500 during their last semester, to spend as they wish.

    In a speech last month, he also announced the creation of incentive
    programs that will offer students who earn their bachelor's degrees on
    time $2,000 scholarships to the university's law or medical schools
    and $1,000 scholarships to its other graduate programs, provided they
    enroll full time the year after they complete their undergraduate
    studies.