| Abstract: |
To study whether a soft commitment device can help students succeed, we
conduct a randomized field experiment and follow a cohort of tertiary students
over six years. Students can commit to following their recommended study
program structure, and they receive reminders each semester. This easily
implementable, low-cost intervention is highly effective: it increases the
five-year graduation rate (+15 percentage points) and reduces time to
graduation (-0.42 semesters), driven by reduced dropout and an increase in
credits obtained per semester. The effects are stronger for suspected
procrastinators. A treatment only reminding students to follow the program
structure has limited effects. |