In the last decade, the state of Texas has made great strides in providing students better access to higher education. But getting them to graduate in a timely fashion has not been as easy.

What used to be considered four-year degrees are now taking students five and six years to complete.

Part of the problem with the increasingly lengthy path toward a degree can be attributed to the need for remedial classes by some students before they can enroll in college credit courses, but that is not all of it.

Many college students are taking longer to finish up their coursework because they are only taking the bare minimum of courses each semester to qualify as full-time.

That problem would be resolved if college students were required to take a minimum of 15 semester hours per semester to be considered full-time students. Decades ago 15 hours of college hours was the normal course load for a full-time college student, but over the years that has dropped to 12 hours per semester.

Some university officials blame federal financial aid requirements for the reduction in the number of courses students register for each semester. Pell Grants require only that students take 12 hours to be considered full time and eligible for the federal financial assistance.

The Pell Grant enabling legislation was passed in 1965. Between the 1970s and 1990s, 13 percent fewer students completed a degree in four years, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

Ironically, another factor contributing to delayed college graduation is that some students are taking more classes than necessary for their degrees.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is proposing legislation that would allow colleges and universities to charge a higher tuition to students who take more than 15 semester credit hours needed for their degree.

There is some merit to that. If students knew they would be penalized for sticking around campus too long. they might be more focused on class selection and move forward with their degree plan.

Most bachelor degree programs require 120 semester credit hours; associate degree programs about 60 credit hours.

According to the coordinating board, in 2011 university students took an average of 147 credit hours over 5.3 years to complete a bachelor's degree. That's 27 hours more than they needed. With a price tag of about $6,000 for the student, that seems like an awful waste of time and money.

The higher education board is proposing colleges and universities charge students higher tuition once they have accumulated more than 135 semester credit hours unless seeking dual majors or a degree that required more than 120 hours.

As with most things, one size does not fit all. Before we go charging higher tuition for taking more classes than necessary, the state owes it to students to develop better transfer agreements between the community colleges and universities to ensure that lower level courses transfer and fit into a bachelor's degree plan.

Better degree counseling also is necessary. Often it's not the students' intent to take more courses than needed. Sometimes they do not have access to counseling necessary to make the proper course choices, or they find out a course they are taking at community college does not transfer.

Focusing on developing strategies to help students complete their degree more quickly frees up classroom space for new students and saves the colleges and students money.

It's time to get on with it.