How Student Pathways Affect Time to Degree

Most college students earn their first credential or degree in under four years, but many students take longer, especially when their pathways are more complex.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s new Time to Degree report found that among the 2.33 million students who earned their first-ever undergraduate degree in 2024–25, median time to degree was 3.7 years (or four academic years) for bachelor’s degrees, 3.0 years for associate degrees, and 2.3 years for certificates.

Still, 13.5 percent of bachelor’s earners took seven or more years to complete their degree, as did more than a quarter of associate and certificate earners.

More Complex Pathways, Longer Completion Times

Pathways involving transferring or attending multiple institutions, earning an award prior to finishing a bachelor’s degree, institution or sector changes, and moving across states were associated with longer elapsed and active enrolled times.

“Students’ pathways through college matter for how long it takes to earn a credential,” said Matthew Holsapple, Senior Director of Research at the National Student Clearinghouse. “Most students complete their first credential in less than four years, but disruptions along the way can impact how long it takes for them to finish.”

Among bachelor’s degree earners, both active enrolled time and elapsed time increased as students attended more institutions:

• Two institutions: 3.9 years of active enrolled time and 4.3 years of elapsed time
• Three institutions: 4.3 years of active enrolled time and 4.9 years of elapsed time
• More than three institutions: 5.3 years of active enrolled time and 9.0 years of elapsed time

What Happens When Students Stop Out?

Stopouts were a major driver of longer completion times. A stopout is any break in enrollment lasting more than 123 days — roughly longer than the period between a traditional spring and fall semester.

Across all award types, median elapsed time to degree increased with each additional stopout. Among first-time bachelor’s earners, total time from first enrollment to degree completion was:

• No stopouts: 3.7 years
• One stopout: 5.1 years
• Two stopouts: 7.3 years
• Three stopouts: 10 years
• More than three stopouts: 16.3 years

Stopouts also extended the time students spent actively enrolled. Among bachelor’s degree earners, time spent actively enrolled was:

• No stopouts: 3.7 years
• One stopout: 4.0 years
• Two stopouts: 4.3 years
• Three stopouts: 4.7 years
• More than three stopouts: 6.0 years

Differences Emerged When Students Stopped Out

Among students who did not stop out, demographic differences in time to degree were minimal. When students did stop out, differences emerged across gender, race and ethnicity, and neighborhood income quintiles.

Stopout frequency also varied across award types and demographic groups, contributing to disparities in time to degree. These findings suggest that differences in stopout patterns help explain a substantial share of the racial and ethnic disparities observed in overall time to degree.

Tracking Pathways and Time to Degree

The Time to Degree report allows us to look more closely at how different pathways can lead to longer time to degree completion and what factors may extend these timelines. Stopping out, transferring institutions or moving states can all add time to a student’s path to a degree. Examining both elapsed time to degree and time actively enrolled provides a fuller picture of these pathways.

“Students’ pathways through college matter for how long it takes to earn a credential. Most students complete their first credential in less than four years, but disruptions along the way can impact how long it takes for them to finish.”

Matthew Holsapple
Senior Director of Research, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center