Examining timely graduation rates of undergraduate students

Purpose Graduation rates are commonly used to assess the quality of higher educational institutions. While universities strive to produce as many graduates as possible, maintaining the right balance between the number of new students enrolled and the number who graduate each year has become a challenge in the past few decades. Timely graduation is often disregarded because a large majority of the students do not graduate within the stipulated time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors associated with timely degree attainment. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were obtained from records maintained by Registrar Office, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand. The final sample comprised 1,330 undergraduate students enrolled at four major faculties in 2009. A multivariate logistic regression model was applied to explain the effects of independent variables on timely graduation. Findings About 81.0 percent had completed their degree program within the stipulated time. The results indicated that faculty, first-semester grade point average, gender and place of residence were significantly associated with timely graduation. Originality/value Findings from this study may serve as a guide to higher educational institutions in identifying the underlying factors, and accordingly develop programs to enhance on time degree completion rates.