The primary goal of the Students with Excessive Credits Project is to identify what is preventing a significant number of students from graduating and why they are accumulating 25% more credits than needed to graduate, and to implement strategies and initiatives to help these students graduate.

Project Outcomes

• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data for all students who currently have 225 or more credits to identify trends.
• Plan, implement, and assess strategies and initiatives to help students with more than 225 credits graduate, such as work toward exceptions or creative housekeeping for currently enrolled students.
• Identify institutional roadblocks and reasons for large credit accumulation.
• Educate advisors on the findings and research reviewed by the Excessive Credits Project Team, and from findings on initial strategy implementation, influence student persistence towards timely graduation.
• Identify and communicate processes and procedures for ongoing student interventions.

Project Impact

Through the project the team developed and recommended three concepts for solution:

• An Undergraduate Transition Success Center (UTSC) which aims to increase collaboration between PSU and community colleges through advisor onsite visits and provide a space for students to connect to advising when they need it at PSU.
• Leveraging the Value in Relationships: A committee comprised of counselors, advisors, and an articulation officer whose goal is to create and institute consistent messaging across institutions at each stage of a student's education as early as middle school up through career.
• Reorganizing the Advising Structure: A lead advisor from each school/unit dually reports to the Dean or Associate Dean of their college as well as the Associate Vice Provost of Academic and Career Advising.