Females are graduating from Iowa State in four years at nearly twice the rate as their male counterparts, according to ISU records.

The latest data, compiled by the ISU Office of Institutional Research, show that 40.5 percent of females from the entering class of 1999 graduated in 2003, whereas only 23.7 percent of males from the same entering class graduated that year.

The entering classes of 1997 and 1998 had similar ratios to the class of 1999 of female and male students graduating in four years. The percentage of four-year graduates for both majors has risen by about 4 percent during the last three years.

However, the universitywide enrollment numbers and graduation numbers of males and females are roughly equal. Almost 44 percent of enrolled students in the fall 2003 semester were female, and 47 percent of the bachelor’s degrees awarded in the 2002-03 school year were given to females.

University officials said they are not certain why more females than males are graduating in four years, but have some speculations as to why.

Mary Goodwin, program coordinator for engineering undergraduate programs, said the types of majors student have completed could be a factor in the disparity in graduation rates between sexes.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s because women are more motivated than men to graduate in four years,” she said. “It’s like comparing apples and oranges. The number of men versus the number of women in some degree programs may skew the statistics.”

Goodwin said only 15 to 16 percent of engineering students are women.

Degree programs within the College of Engineering usually take more than four years to complete because the college recommends students do internships and co-ops, she said.

“The work experience they will receive is more important than graduating in four years,” she said.

Another consideration is the difficulty of coursework when completing an education, and Goodwin said many engineering students take fewer classes per semester to lighten their workload.

Jane Jacobson, program coordinator for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, agreed with Goodwin’s assessment.

“In general, with social sciences, people are more likely to graduate in four years,” Jacobson said. “You need to look at which type of majors lend themselves to graduation in four years and if women are more likely to graduate from those majors than men.”

Troy Swanson, a fifth-year senior in management who will graduate in May, said he is taking five years to finish his degree because he switched majors halfway through his college career. He said he was not surprised to hear more females graduate in four years than males.

“Most of my female friends who graduated in four years knew where they wanted to go in their careers when they came in, so they got it all finished quickly,” he said.