As I work at a good sized institution I gotta disagree. The effect I actually see is that students who spend more time at our university take up disproportional

As I work at a good sized institution I gotta disagree. The effect I actually see is that students who spend more time at our university take up disproportional resources and end up costing the university money - Since students who take >4 years typically fill up required courses then drop out - the courses aren't filled efficiently. There are many other reasons as well for a University to want "graduate in 4", but that's the first ones to come to mind. It's a major program here and the administration has been researching and passing new tuition policies. You can read a report done by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning here at KU: http://www2.ku.edu/~oirp/GIF/GIF_TaskForceReport_090205.pdf http://www2.ku.edu/~oirp/GIF/GIF_TaskForceReport_090205.pdf