Are you expecting to head back to school and earn your bachelor’s degree in just four years? According to a study recently completed by the Education Department, you may be surprised to learn that the odds are against you completing your degree program in time. In fact, according to the data recently released by the Education Department, many students aren’t even graduating within a six year period.

On average, our nation’s four-year colleges are only graduating 53% of their students within a six year period. Disturbingly, the Education Department’s report also indicated hat many colleges are far below this average, stating that “rates below 50%, 40% an even 30% are distressingly easy to find.”

The data, which was gathered by focusing on first-time students who entered college on a full-time basis in the fall of 2001, looked at almost 1,400 different schools. By looking at these facts and figures, the Education Department found that there are “dramatic variations” across institutions when it comes to the time it takes to get students through their degree programs. Harvard University, for example, had one of the highest rates with 97% of its students graduating within a 6-year period. Southern University at New Orleans, on the other hand, was at the low end of the spectrum with an 8% graduation rate within six years.

The Education Department did acknowledge that a number of different factors contribute to these discrepancies, such as the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans as well as Southern University at New Orleans. Still, the Education Department maintains that colleges and universities have an important role to play when it comes to turning these figures around.

“While student motivation, finances and ability matter greatly when it comes to college completion, the practices of higher education institutions matter, too,” said lead author of the study, Frederick Hass.

Experts within the education industry are hopeful that the study will help inspire colleges and universities to improve their practices in order to increase their graduation rates.

“We can learn from universities who are beating the odds,” said Geri Malandra from the American Council on Education in a USA Today report.

Of course, you don’t have to attend a four-year university or college in order to obtain the degree or certification you need to pursue a rewarding career. Visit the Top Colleges home page to begin your search through a variety of different online colleges and ground campuses offering a number of different certification and degree programs for you to select from.