University of Nebraska President, Dr. Hank Bounds is officially installed today, but he’s been on the job for a year now. He’s talked with people across the state and learned that increasing the graduation rate and decreasing student debt is important to Nebraskans.
The new “Commit to Complete”program at the Nebraska campuses is designed to do both, and more. University of Nebraska Director of Communications, Melissa Lee, explains:
"If a student stays in school longer, of course that is going to add cost to their education. They might live in the dorms an extra year, so then they would have an extra year of books, that sort of thing. And they are also putting off that year of earnings. They could be out in the workforce, and so they are delaying those earnings as well. So, that is why we want to reinforce timely graduation – help students keep the cost of their education down."
Lee says that only about 32% of students statewide graduate from college in four years. The six-year graduation rate in Nebraska is roughly 56% according to the Chronicle for Higher Education.