The average UW-Madison student arrives on campus as a freshman announcing, I will graduate in four years."" Don't let the initial light campus climate fool you, freshmen; to graduate in four years, UW-Madison students must take an average of 15-17 credits per semester. Factor in a part-time job, extracurriculars and social activities, and you can expect to feel as if two full-time jobs have taken over your schedule.
And yet, regardless of the activities students must balance, the average time it takes for a UW-Madison student to graduate is still only 4.12 years.
As new studies report the decreasing amount of time it takes for UW-Madison students to graduate, the campus must inquire: What is the real reason that students graduate so fast?
Some students feel pressured to graduate in four years because of the stigma attached to being a super senior or, worse, a super-super senior.
""I think five years is acceptable,"" UW-Madison junior Brianna Salinas said. ""But when you push it, then people start looking at you funny, like 'how old are you?'""
But a negative perception of delayed graduation is not the only thing driving students to graduate so quickly.
According to Jocelyn Milner, director of Academic Planning and Analysis for the Office of the Provost, students involved in co-curricular activities are more likely to finish their degrees on time.
Salinas, who plans to finish her degree in the five years designed for engineering majors, balances her double major in geological engineering and geology and geophysics with three student organizations and a part-time job.
""Students who challenge themselves tend to do better,"" Milner said. ""They spend more time on their school work and less time partying. They are better time managers, and they really come out of college having exercised the kind of skill development that we as an institution hope that they will develop.""
With over 150 registered student organizations on campus to balance with schoolwork, it is no wonder students are challenging themselves.
""I make a schedule; I usually work the same days each week and have meetings at the same time each week, and then I work around that and plan based on what's due,"" Salinas said, adding that she follows her scholarship advisor Mercile Lee's advice to study three hours a week per credit.
That same stigma driving students to graduate earlier is derived not just from peer interactions, but from advisors and official offices on campus.
Studies by the UW Academic Planning and Analysis Office indicate that students have been completing their degrees faster every year since 2001. Results indicate that the increase is partly due to students taking more than the average credit load of 14.3.
""I encourage students to take a full credit load,"" Milner said. ""If students are replacing ... hours in the classroom with partying, then they are not really getting what they came for,"" adding that students still have to pay full tuition if they take 13 credits instead of 18.
APA studies also indicate that students who declare a major earlier finish in a more timely manner.
""It doesn't do any good if we have students who enroll and stay for a long, long time and don't graduate, or [students who] come and leave,"" Milner said. ""Their real value is to come and earn a degree.""
The web pages of specific colleges at UW-Madison, such as the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, advise students to chart out academic plans that include exactly four years.
Results of the APA studies identified some of the factors that result in delayed graduation. The study said students who drop out and reapply are 22 percent more likely to delay their graduation time.
Part of the study, however, relied on student surveys about degree completion. The student surveys indicated that poor academic advising and difficulty enrolling in courses were the least significant indicators of delayed graduation.
In fact, Salinas partly attributes her path to finishing on time to meetings with her advisor, Donald Woolston.
""He was really helpful in steering me in the right direction and never telling me what to do, but giving me suggestions with coursework,"" Salinas said.
This year's new student orientation, SOAR, presented a revamped advising system at UW-Madison. Advisors passed out guidance forms to incoming freshmen who were still undecided in an effort to help them decide on their majors. Advisors tried something new with the informational packets at SOAR this year.
""We don't want to kill them with information or totally bombard them,"" Emily Dickmann, Cross College Advising Service advisor, said. Instead of giving the students several packets, advisors such as Dickmann provided students with one concise packet.
""I think a lot of people leave SOAR thinking, oh my gosh, I got so much, and a lot of it just kind of floats out [of] their brains,"" Dickmann said.
""I think the information packets are great,"" said UW-Madison freshman Cullen Berg, who attended SOAR this year. ""I'm glad they don't give students a 3000-page book on everything.""
Although these guidance forms pressure students to declare their majors faster, the advisors do not push the students to make a decision.
""I think students are the experts in their own lives,"" Dickmann said. ""Most students want to graduate in four years. Some students have the time, money and resources. I let them name the goal and then I help them achieve it.""
New technology has also contributed to the graduation-time trends.
""What the people in curricular services and enrollment management are striving for is to make [course] information available to students in real-time in ways that are useful to them,"" Milner said.
The newest system augmenting the MyUW site,
Course Guide, is an online feature coming to MyUW in the spring or summer of 2009. The new design will replace class listings in the Course Catalog as well as add new information about classes including its description, prerequisites, sections, textbooks and materials.
""Course Guide will prove to be really useful to students,"" Milner said. ""It is really intended to be a way to communicate the curriculum to students.""
New students continue to come to SOAR determined to graduate in four years. UW-Madison freshman Sierra Jin is no exception.
""As of now, I am planning on majoring in biology,"" Jin said. ""Unless I found a major I felt strongly and certain about, I wouldn't be inclined to change majors.""
