Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - National Technical ...

TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A DEGREE
With the exception of deaf and hard-of-hearing
students directly admitted to an RIT college other
than NTID, students who are deaf or hard-ofhearing
take a longer time to complete a degree
than hearing students. There are many reasons for
this, not the least of which is academic
preparedness. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students
admitted to NTID are generally academically
behind their 18- to 19-year-old hearing
counterparts. Many enter NTID with ACT
composite scores of less than 16 and reading
comprehension and language skills between the
7 th and 9 th grade level. Therefore, considerable
time and effort is devoted to remediation and
career exploration. In addition, most programs have
between one- and three-quarter requirements for
cooperative education experiences (paid
employment in field related to study), while some
programs require more than three-quarters of
cooperative education. This extends normal
program length by approximately one year;
typically, associate degree programs require three
years and B.S. programs require five years.
The table below shows the average number of
active quarters and the average number of
calendar years elapsed between entry and date
of degree.
First Degree Category
Time Required to Complete a Degree:
Graduates Academic Year 2006, 2007, 2008
Number
of
Students
Deaf and hard-of-hearing students who transfer to
an RIT baccalaureate program after completing an
associate degree take more than seven years total
on average, to attain a B.S. degree. Students who
start at NTID, primarily because they were initially
inadmissible to RIT, who later satisfy the RIT
requirements before finishing an NTID associate
degree and then transfer, take 5.7 years, on
average, to attain a B.S. degree. Deaf and hard-ofhearing
students who directly enter RIT
baccalaureate programs graduate in less than five
years, on average. What is remarkable about the
three B.S. cohorts of students is that all deaf and
hard-of-hearing students typically have lower entrylevel
academic skills than do their hearing peers,
yet with preparation and support and access
services provided by NTID, they are able to enter
and graduate from RIT programs at rates similar to
or better than their hearing peers (see next page).
* Does not include quarters when students were withdrawn or on leave of absence.
** Calculated from the day student enters NTID to the day he/she graduates, regardless of withdrawals or leaves of absence.
-107-
Median
Active
Quarters*
Median
Calendar
Years**
B.S. degree (transfer after NTID
associate degree) 77 22.0 7.3
B.S. degree (transfer from NTID without
associate degree) 130 17.5 5.7
B.S. degree (direct entry)
A.A.S. degree
A.O.S. degree
81 15.4 4.7
145 14.3 4.9
130 13.6 5.2
Graduation and Persistence