AUSTIN, Texas – A University of Texas task force has unveiled an ambitious plan to help boost graduation rates at Texas' largest university.
According to its findings, just 51 percent of the students who started at UT-Austin in 2007 graduated in four years.
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About 80 percent took six years to get their diploma.
UT hopes to raise the four-year graduation rate to 70 percent by 2016 by offering incentives for students.
Among the recommendations:
- Make freshman orientation mandatory with ongoing monitoring of academic progress
- Establish an online system for tracking of progress toward degrees
- Offer flat-rate summer tuition to increase enrollment during semester breaks
- Increase tuition for anyone with more course credits than they need to graduate (example: a person who changes majors will likely earn more credits than necessary)
UT President William Powers Jr. endorsed the task force's recommendations.
In an e-mail to students and faculty, he said some proposals would be put in place immediately.
Student Shereen Nawaz says taking longer to earn a degree may be a by-product of today's college environment.
"I think a lot of people ... think they know what they want to do, but then, of course, you take all these different classes and you meet new people and you find something else you might like. That may delay it one or two years as well," Nawaz said.