Project Title:Student Success Tuition Discount ProgramInstitution Name:Indiana University Kokomo
Innovation Category:Retention/Completion
Project Director:Jack Tharp, Vice Chancellor of Student AffairsContact Information:(765)-455-9214,
jtharp@iuk.eduWebsite: Project Description:As a pilot initiative, the Student Success
Tuition Discount program is an experiment. The “hypothesis” is that a financial
incentive in the form of significant annual tuition discounts will influence
students to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years. The review committee determined
that since the proposed project is about cost savings for students, then there
should be only one independent variable, the tuition discount. The discounts will be administered as
university grants-in-aid.
Objectives:Little has been done in higher education to
effectively change price and make it a genuine “lever” in influencing student
behavior to graduate in four years. Some
institutions have pledged a guaranteed tuition rate for four years and others
have repackaged the 4-year curriculum to be completed in three years time.
These are changes around the margins and the numbers of students opting for
these options suggest that students do not perceive a cost-benefit.
Essentially, the objective is to complete 30 credit hours per year and graduate
in four years with a BS/BA degree.
Discount:
The discounts will be administered as university grants-in-aid. After
completion of the first year, students will be entitled to a 20% discount, or a
$1,300 grant, reducing tuition from $6,545 (est.) to $5,236 for the sophomore
year. The next year [junior year for the
cohort], the discount will be increased another $723 to a total of 30 percent,
saving students approximately $2,032 that year, and by their final year, the
tuition discount is increased to approximately $2,804 or a 40% reduction for
the senior year . Over the course of four years, students completing with the
cohort will have reduced their tuition by $6,145, or 23 percent, effectively
reducing four-year college costs to three years.
Outcomes:The initial pilot cohort sample of first time,
full-time freshman students took place fall semester of 2011. When the bulk of IU Kokomo’s full-time beginners
were admitted and registered, a random selection of 80 new students were
identified. These students and their parents were sent a letter explaining the
program, with a required general information session to follow. During this
session, all program details were explained.
Forty students attended the information session and agreed to
participate. It should be noted that since graduation rates are calculated on
first-time, full-time, beginning students and not transfers, transfers are not
in the sample population. In the Student
Success Tuition Initiative, students will be tracked to ensure they meet the 30
credit hour obligation. There is no penalty for students exiting the pilot
group.
Challenges/Problems Encountered:The campus faces two sets of challenges in
enhancing degree attainment through this program. The first is the fact IU
Kokomo is a commuter campus. This requires special attention and
extra-curricular programming designed especially for the new students. The
second challenge is the fact that students are often engaged in work and family
obligations that deter them from full-time enrollment (30 credit hours per
year), and thus to make adequate progress toward degree completion in four
years. Although 80 students were invited to participate in the program, only 40
students signed up for the program.
Evaluation Approach:Student progress will be monitored on a regular
basis. Upon the conclusion of the pilot program’s first semester (January
2012), a comprehensive evaluation and analysis will be conducted. The
number of students retained in the program will be noted, and student
demographics (SAT, GPA, age, major) will be analyzed. Short interviews will be
conducted with the students who remain in the program as well as those who did
not successfully complete the first semester. This analysis will provide
insight as to the impact the tuition discount has had on student
persistence.
Potential for Replication:With the appropriate funding, any campus can replicate this program.
CEO-to-CEO Contact:Michael Harris
, Chancellormicharis@iuk.edu
(765) 455-9225 Date Published: Monday, January 09, 2012Date Revised: Thursday, April 12, 2012