Career Students: Schooled in Delay
By Mara Rose Williams, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
May 14–A Wisconsin man is so enamored of college that he has spent 12 years accumulating enough credits for five undergraduate degrees.
Johnny Lechner’s perpetual-student status has garnered him publicity in newspapers and on network television shows. He was about to graduate this month from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater when five days before graduation the 29-year-old decided to again postpone donning a cap and gown.
“I realized that if I went one more year, I could study abroad,” Lechner said. “That’s one thing I haven’t done.”
So, are there lots of Lechners out there?
Officials at the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas could not say whether they have any students who have racked up as many credit hours as Lechner — 234 credits, or about 100 more than needed to graduate. And he’s taking seven more credit hours this semester.
Unlike Lechner’s school, neither KU nor MU penalizes undergraduates who take classes interminably. The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents this school year instituted the “slacker tax,” which basically doubles the cost of tuition for “forever” students.
The tax was started to help cover the state subsidy for students who stay long past the usual four or five years to earn an undergraduate degree. It calls for students who exceed 165 total credit hours or 30 more than their degree programs require — whichever is higher — to pay double tuition.
The average University of Missouri system undergraduate finishes in less than five years, said Stephen Lehmkuhle, vice president for academic affairs for the system.
At KU, the average undergrad earns a degree in less than six years.
The average four-year graduation rate at public colleges and universities nationwide is 42 percent, according to the American Association of Universities.
University officials on both sides of the state line said there are a variety of reasons why it may take an undergraduate more than the traditional four years to graduate.
Some don’t take the full load of 15 credit hours each semester, and some change their majors or minors midstream.
KU officials remember that more than a decade ago they had an undergraduate who had been taking classes for about 25 years. But they said that was because as part of a divorce settlement her ex-husband had to pay for her education.
“I guess some stay for spite,” said Todd Cohen, KU spokesman. “But most just want to get in, get out and get on with their career.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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