THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602230026
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
It has been a long time since Sam Goldwyn is supposed to have warned us that a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Today, from real estate to academe, ``Put it in writing'' is the standing instruction.
But most people probably wouldn't think you'd need a contract with a college freshman guaranteeing he or she could earn a degree in four years. That's what college is, isn't it - four years?
Actually not. Nationwide, only 31 percent of full-time students complete bachelor's degree requirements in that time frame. The average is five years.
So Virginia Wesleyan College drew nationwide notice the other day when it announced that, beginning in August, freshmen arriving at the Norfolk-Virginia Beach campus will be offered a Four-Year Graduation Guarantee Contract. VWC is the first college in Virginia and possibly the first private liberal-arts college in the nation to make this offer.
Some students of course fail to finish in four years because they don't get the work done in a timely manner; they flunk or drop too many classes. But others may find themselves frustrated as seniors when some course required for their major isn't available that term. In other instances, young people enter college uncertain what they want to do in life and, in moving toward a decision, will change their declared major, sometimes more than once.
The Wesleyan contract spells out the student's responsibilities as well as its own. If the student meets his or her part of the deal - carrying a full academic load, maintaining acceptable grades, keeping in regular contact with the faculty adviser, etc. - the college will provide the required courses within the four years or, beyond that time, will waive tuition on those courses.
Moving on a fast track from new kid on the academic block to child prodigy to ivied maturity, 30-year-old Virginia Wesleyan has enjoyed remarkable success. And because its four-year graduation rate for full-time students, at 43 percent, already is well above the average, officials expect the program to present little difficulty.
Still, the contract is an innovative, auspicious addition. Students should welcome it. Their parents doubtless will. by CNB