How Long Does it Take to Earn a Higher Education Degree in Spain?

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main determinants of time-to-degree in higher education. Our results use retrospective data on the full cohort of first-time entering students who embarked on short and long programs from one university in Spain and who were observed over an 8-year period ending in 2004. The descriptive analyses show that less than 40% of degree recipients are able to graduate within the minimum period of time. Duration models are estimated for different types of programs. The empirical results show that time-to-completion is extremely sensitive to students' abilities and, to a much lesser extent, to socio-economic background, motivation when entering the program and, gender. We find no evidence that delayed enrollment or size of program is associated with the amount of time it takes to earn a degree. Other things held constant, graduates who receive financial support continuously through the entire period finish faster, and promoting student performance at the beginning of the program significantly speeds student progress toward a degree.