Page 6 The Behrend Beacon UK considering graduation contract to keep students on 4 by Steve Lannen Knight Ridder Newspapers Like fishermen returning from a day on the boat, almost all Uni versity of Kentucky students have a story about a class that got away. It was only offered at the same time as another required class. It was only offered every other se mester. The professor who teaches the class got sick or was on sab batical. And the student ended up staying another semester to get that class and graduate. If that happens, UK should pay the extra tuition, says Tony Stoeppel, a student government senator. Stoeppel, an engineering major, would like to see UK offer a graduation contract. Students would agree to stay on track to graduate by passing classes and taking a full load, or close to it, every semester. They’d work with advisors to make sure they're meeting requirements. In return, UK would agree to pay the extra tuition if students had to stay longer than four years be cause required courses weren't available when they needed them. Only about one-fourth of new UK freshmen graduate in four years. The reasons are complex, and even the contract’s support ers acknowledge it wouldn’t work for every student. But still, UK’s faculty and aca demic leaders are interested in the idea, which is done at schools such as the University of tbwa arid In diana University with varying de grees of success. Large 14-i pizza & two UK Provost Mike Nietzel said he is intrigued by the contract idea, which he thinks could help stu dents and UK's graduation rate without costing too much. “It will focus both the student and the institution earlier on what it takes to be successful,” he said. Jobs, course requirements, scheduling and plain old avoid ance of the 8 a.m. class all play a role in why students are staying longer than four years, students and professors say. At UK and other schools, stu dents increasingly work to pay for school, rent or just spending money. Work schedules often de termine how many classes a stu dent can take each semester, rather than the other way around. In the College of Agriculture, agronomy professor Bill Thom es timates that about 40 percent of his students work 30 or more hours per week. It would be almost impossible for those students to participate in the contract, he said, because they often cannot take a full load. Stoeppel said a UK graduation contract could be based on credit hours instead of years, or even offer five- or six-year contracts for some students. A task force is expected to draft a proposal, which could go before trustees for approval as early as the end of the semester. A possible downside to the con tract is that students might not be able to take all the elective courses ■ iftey w&u\