Florina Caprita was just six credits shy of her degree from Ashworth College when a family emergency forced her out of school. To make matters worse, the mother of three young children fell behind on her monthly tuition payments, which had steadily increased from $25 to more than $200.

Last spring, Caprita got an opportunity to earn a degree at a different college. The problem? Ashworth, an unaccredited, for-profit school in Georgia, refused to release her transcript until she paid—in full—the more than $2,200 that she owed. This practice, known as transcript withholding, could get harder to enforce in the future.

Millions of students who begin their college journey believe they’ll finish in four years. In reality, fewer than half of them will make it to the four-year finish line. Consider this surprising number: At more than 100 U.S. colleges and universities, not a single student graduated within four years.

This episode of College Uncovered digs deep into the world of graduation rates, plus what some colleges are doing to help students save time and money.

Photo: Stephanie Strasburg

Some faculty members at Chatham University are exploring the option of unionizing, seeking “a seat at the table" with an administration that’s deciding how to patch a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. 

Ten faculty members, with and without tenure, are forming an organizing committee for the early-stage effort for full-time faculty. Through casual conversations and a few virtual information sessions, they hope to educate their colleagues on the process of unionizing and the benefits they believe representation could bring.