Employers, Parents, and Politicians Have Requested a Drastic Change to American Colleges. They're Getting It.

"It was the idea of being able to save a year that grabbed his attention, said McDonald—a savings of not only time, but tuition. And he could start earning a salary faster than if he spent four years in college."

"That's an option being made available by colleges and universities with astonishing speed, especially in the notoriously slow-moving world of higher education: an entirely new kind of bachelor's degree muscling into the space between the traditional four-year version and the two-year associate degree."

"At least one school, Ensign College in Utah, will convert all of its bachelor's degrees into the new, reduced-credit, three-year kind, it announced in February. Nearly 60 other universities and colleges are planning, considering, or have already launched them in some disciplines."

Universities across the United States are quickly adopting three-year bachelor's degree programs that require only 90 credits instead of the traditional 120. Johnson & Wales University launched one of the nation's first in-person programs of this kind, with students like Quinn McDonald choosing the accelerated option to save both time and money on tuition. This represents a significant shift in higher education, creating a new category between traditional four-year degrees and two-year associate degrees. Ensign College in Utah announced plans to convert all its bachelor's degrees to this reduced-credit format, while nearly 60 other institutions are planning, considering, or have already implemented such programs. Several states, including Indiana, are requiring or considering requiring their public universities to offer these abbreviated degrees, and even graduate and professional schools face pressure to shorten their programs.

Read at Slate Magazine