American Council on Education

Students attending Hartwick College in New York may now be able to save over $40,000 on their education by enrolling in a new three- year college degree program, according to a recent news release from the college (“Hartwick College Announces Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree,” Feb. 24, 2009).

The new initiative will reduce colleges costs for the school’s students and their families by 25 percent at a time when the country remains deeply mired in a recession, but, Hartwick officials contend, the program will maintain the “rich educational experience” that is characteristic of the school.

“This three-year program will deliver the same educational opportunity to qualifying students as our four-year program,” said Dr. Margaret Drugovich, Hartwick’s president. “We believe it is imperative for the higher education community to preserve the option of a top-quality education for any student who seeks it, regardless of the prevailing economic challenges or personal circumstances.”

To qualify for the three-year college degree program, students must have graduated high school with at least a 3.0 GPA. Once enrolled, students must take 40 credits each academic year instead of the usual 30, and take classes during a special January term each year in order to complete the standard 120 credits needed to graduate. The required extra winter session will allow students to keep their summers free for study abroad, internships, research practicums, or spending time with family.



Increased Interest in Three-Year Programs

Drugovich is anticipating a great deal of interest in the three-year degree program, but her students aren’t the only ones taking notice of these types of programs. With the skyrocketing cost of college continuing to squeeze families often already hard-pressed to come up with money for school, the concept of a cheaper three-year degree may be gaining favor.

At the American Council on Education’s annual meeting held earlier this month, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former university president, urged more college presidents to consider three-year college degrees at their institutions, the Associated Press reports (“Some Colleges Offering Degrees in 3 Years,” Feb. 24, 2009).

And lawmakers in Rhode Island are drafting legislation that would encourage three-year college degree completion. Their bill would create standardized college-level classes for the state’s high schools that would be intended to enable all students to complete college in only three years.



Three-Year Degrees Face Uncertain Future

But prior to the country’s recession, three-year degrees had largely failed to catch on.

At Upper Iowa University, only five students have chosen to pursue the school’s three-year degree program over the five years it has been in existence and every one of those five students ended up taking four or more years to complete their degree. The school has not had a single student interested in the program since.

Educators attribute the lack of participation in these accelerated programs to the fact that students may still prefer the full four- year college experience, academically, socially, and athletically, Joy Newcom, spokeswoman of Waldorf College, told the Associated Press about her Iowa school that is just now phasing out its last three-year program due to lack of student interest.

Newcom said, “What we’re finding they’re saying is, ‘Why did I want to grow up so fast?’ .”