Study: Students Who Take More Credits Have Higher GPAs, Retention Rates
By Allie Bidwell, Communications Staff
Incoming college students could benefit from taking more credits each semester, according to a new study. Taking a slightly heavier course load wouldn't just help them graduate on time, but could also be associated with higher grades and retention rates, the study found.
The Education Advisory Board (EAB), a research firm, examined the data from 1.3 million incoming full-time students at more than 130 institutions participating in the Student Success Collaborative, schools that have implemented initiatives designed to help students graduate on time. Many schools have implemented "15 to Finish" campaigns that encourage students to take 15 credits each semester — typically the amount needed to complete a 120-credit degree program in four years.
EAB found that students who took 15 or more credits per semester on average finished their first year with a GPA that was 0.36 points higher than their peers who averaged 12 to 14 credits per terms. The students with heavier course loads also had retention rates 9 percentage points higher (90 percent vs. 81 percent). Even students with lower GPAs coming out of high school benefitted from taking more credits per term.
Students from lower income backgrounds also benefitted from taking 15 or more credits, EAB found. Pell Grant recipients who took 15 or more credits were 7 percentage points more likely to persist, and had GPAs 0.12 points higher than their peers who took fewer credits.
Some advocates have suggested that taking slightly more credits each term can be beneficial for students not just in helping them graduate on time, but in saving them money. After eight semesters of taking just 12 credits – the minimum needed to be counted as a full-time student – students would fall short of graduating in four years by 24 credits, or another academic year. With other barriers along the way that slow students' progress toward a degree, some may accumulate as many as 150 or 160 credits by the time they graduate, costing them more money.
"These findings show that an increased credit load is unlikely to be detrimental for students at any academic level, challenging a common concern that taking more classes is a bad idea for struggling students," Ed Venit, senior director of strategic research at EAB, told Inside Higher Ed. "In fact, the least-prepared students were more likely to persist and get better grades if they took a few extra credits their first term."
Publication Date: 8/23/2017
David S | 8/23/2017 3:46:30 PM
I'm all for students working hard and being focused on their studies, and for now we'll put aside the very obvious fact that not all students are in life situations that allow them to enroll in 15 or more credits per semester. But aren't those who do enroll for 15+ credits more likely to be better prepared academically, be stronger students, have better time management skills, be more focused...so is it that taking 15+ credits helps students succeed, or is it that the students who are taking 15+ credits are already the ones better equipped to succeed? The chicken/egg argument might be backwards here.
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