VCU news

By Tom Gresham

Brianna Robinson loves Virginia Commonwealth University, but that doesn’t mean she wants to stick around longer than necessary. The VCU freshman is taking 16 credit hours this fall, and she’s resolved to take at least 15 in the spring. Robinson is determined to graduate in four years, and she doesn’t want to fall off the pace her first year on campus.

“It’s better to study hard and work hard on the front end than to have to catch up on the back end,” Robinson said.

Seventy-three percent of VCU freshmen signed up for at least 15 credit hours this fall. Last year, that figure was just 60 percent. The sharp increase can be traced in part to a new effort to encourage undergraduate students to take at least 15 credits each semester with the aim of graduating in four years. The “Do the Math: 15/4” campaign,” which launched this year, was a point of emphasis in freshman orientation, and Luke Schultheis, vice provost for the Division of Strategic Enrollment Management, was pleased to see such a strong response from the newcomers.

“For these students, the goal of graduating in four years is already a part of their life now,” Schultheis said.

Schultheis said the benefits of graduating in four years are many, but they’re most concentrated in the areas of career advancement and financial savings.

Those who graduate in four years enter the workplace or graduate school sooner and are able to start building their careers, while the savings in costs can be massive. In-state students who take an average of 15 credit hours each semester rather than 12 – thereby graduating in four years instead of six – save an estimated $54,000. Those savings largely stem not from tuition, especially now with VCU’s per-credit tuition cost system for new students, but from the associated costs of attending college, such as books and supplies, room and board, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses.

Schultheis said VCU hopes that helping more students graduate in four years will reduce the numbers of students who graduate with college-related debt. Approximately 62 percent of VCU students take on debt to pay for college, graduating with an average debt of $27,000, he said.

“There’s a huge difference in the cost of your education if you graduate in four years instead of six,” Schultheis said.

The “Do the Math” effort is not just a marketing campaign, though bus ads, posters and a new website are part of the package. Schultheis said the university also is marshalling a host of resources in areas such as advising, records software and class scheduling to help students meet that four-year goal.

For instance, VCU offers Degree Works, a computerized report that tracks the completion of a student’s declared degree to help ensure each student understands course requirements for graduation. Advisers reach out to freshmen taking fewer than 15 hours to make sure they are comfortable with the choice and to help them add to their classload if they want. And deans are working to make sure sufficient sections of required classes are available so students do not see graduation delayed because a course is not available to them.

“The schools have been great partners in this,” Schultheis said.

Schultheis said students who start by taking 15 credit hours per semester tend to be able to maintain that pace throughout their college tenures, but he is quick to acknowledge that a full course load is not always possible. “Life gets in the way sometimes,” he said. Many VCU students work part-time, and a full slate of classes requires a great deal of study time.

Cherrelle Davis will graduate in December with a degree in creative advertising, four-and-a-half years after enrolling at VCU. She took 12 credit hours each of her first two semesters at school and then began to make up ground with 18 hours and 16 hours her sophomore year. She doesn’t regret those 12-hour semesters – it was the right decision for her – but she said she believes 15 hours is the optimum courseload for most college students. In particular, she said, she found it difficult to meet her targets for grades when navigating an 18-hour semester.

She had a better time hitting her GPA goals with fewer hours. She advises shooting for the 15-hour semester when possible and avoiding piling up classes that are too similar. For instance, taking too many writing-heavy classes at once can lead to a deluge of due dates for papers.

Davis said falling behind can be stressful.

“You just don’t want to have to make up too much,” she said. “It’s tough to play catch-up and still get good grades and enjoy college life. And you do want to enjoy this while you’re here because once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Schultheis said it’s important to note that VCU’s embrace of the “Do the Math” campaign should not be confused with advocating for anyone to rush through their time at the university. Robinson said her determination to graduate in four years will not lead her to go in search of the easiest possible path. For her, the ease of classes takes a backseat to the value of them. She plans to challenge herself in her course selection, signing up for courses that match her degree route – she plans to major in psychology with a general business minor – but also her personal interests and aspirations.

“I think it’s important not only to take classes that help you toward your major, but also that expand who you are,” Robinson said. “I think that’s why we’re here.”

For more information about “Do the Math,” including related resources, visit http://dothemath.vcu.edu/.

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