Dive Brief:
- The Howard University Board of Trustees approved a tuition rebate plan in February and now the first on-time or early graduates are getting checks for 50% of their tuition payments for their final semester.
- The Washington Post reports students who paid final-semester tuition with cash, credit card or an installment plan are eligible for the rebate, which incentivizes students to complete in four or fewer years and pay a portion of their tuition outright, instead of relying on loans.
- While the program has cost Howard $250,000 so far, university leaders expect it to decrease the millions of dollars in grants that go to students who take one or two years extra to graduate.
Dive Insight:
Howard University joins a growing number of institutions incentivizing, and in some ways mandating, students to graduate on time.
Indiana now requires students to earn 24 credits per year to qualify for financial aid for the following year and rewards them with extra cash if they earn 30 credits or more. In West Virginia, about half of students qualifying for aid have to take 30 credits to get their money.
While these programs have been successful at increasing retention and graduation rates, there is always a concern that when too many classes are required to get financial aid, it unfairly burdens students who have to work or take care of children while going to school. “Fifteen to Finish” campaigns may overload students who are least equipped to handle it.