Three year undergraduate degrees ?
iIn the Chronicle today, there is an article about a three year undergraduate degree which is pretty much accomplished by taking more credits each semester and using summers for internships, etc. Should we try it?
"If four years’ tuition is too expensive, how about three? The economic downturn is reviving an idea that colleges have experimented with for years, with limited success.
Hartwick College, in Oneonta, N.Y., today became the latest college to announce a three-year bachelor’s degree, which it says will reduce costs for students and their families by 25 percent, or more than $40,000. Hartwick’s optional three-year program, which formalizes an approach some students already pursue individually, will begin this fall, allowing both current and new students to enroll.
Three-year degrees have come and gone, but the concept got a strong endorsement in a speech this month by Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who is a former secretary of education.
Although designed to cut costs, the Hartwick program will also maintain its “rich educational experience,” the college said in a news release. Students who participate will take 40 rather than 30 credits a year, keeping their summers free for study abroad, internships, or employment. Service learning, athletics, and other activities will still be accessible to three-year students, according to Meg Nowak, Hartwick’s vice president for student life.
Students must finish high school with at least a 3.0 grade-point average to qualify for the “accelerated route to graduation,” which includes priority course registration and special academic advising. But some majors, including anthropology, biochemistry, German, and music, are not taking part."
Comments
This is an interesting idea.
I graduated in 3 years, in part because of AP credit and a couple of summer classes and in part because my mom had cancer and I had to hurry up and get out of school to take care of her.
There are some problems with speeding through. The first is that I didn't really feel part of my graduating class -- most of my friends were a year behind. I wonder if this hampers subsequent fundraising from alumni.
The second problem is that while part of me was in a hurry to get out of college, another part was hankering for more classes. That part would have been happier with 4 years in college, but where the 4th year was spent getting a masters degree. (In fact, this is what I would have done if my mom's health wasn't an issue.) This is a win-win situation for everyone -- the college gets a full 4 years of tuition and the student gets extra educational value.
Posted by: Sashank Varma | April 6, 2009 5:07 PM