NSU campaign encourages on-time graduation

(Tahlequah, Oklahoma) - In the last three years, Northeastern State University has seen a 33 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in 15 or more credit hours each semester.

The increase is credited to NSUs partnership with Complete College America in the 15 to Finish campaign, a push to boost the number of students who are set to graduate with a bachelors degree in four years by encouraging enrollment in 15 credits each semester.

As part of the campaign, NSU coined its own Think 30 campaign to emphasize the importance of a year-long commitment to successful college completion. In addition to developing marketing materials promoting the campaign, the university has trained academic advisors to talk to their students about the benefits of enrolling in 15 credit hours per semester.

According to research from Complete College America, students who attempt at least 15 credits perform better academically than those taking fewer classes, said NSU Provost Debbie Landry. Research also indicates that student persistence rates are higher when they take 15 hours instead of 12.

Other benefits of enrolling in 15 or more credit hours per semester are the long-term time and money savings.

Students who take 15 credit hours per semester decrease time to degree completion and it keeps them on track to graduate in four years, saving themselves and their families additional time and expense, said Landry. Graduating in four years means students enter the workforce ready to achieve their goals and to have a positive impact on the economy.