As students across the country continue to struggle with the increasing cost of college tuition, some universities are considering rethinking the traditional four-year educational model in order to make higher education more affordable and accessible.
In an effort to combat the rising financial burden on students and their families, these universities are exploring the possibility of implementing three-year degree programs. By condensing the traditional four-year curriculum into three years, students would be able to graduate sooner and potentially save thousands of dollars in tuition and living expenses.
Proponents of the three-year program argue that it not only reduces the overall cost of attending college, but also allows students to enter the workforce sooner and start earning a steady income. Additionally, by accelerating the degree process, students are able to minimize the amount of student loan debt they accrue, ultimately easing the financial strain on graduates as they enter the workforce.
However, critics of the three-year program raise concerns about potential limitations on the breadth and depth of the curriculum, as well as the impact on students’ overall learning experience. In order to address these concerns, universities considering implementing three-year programs are working to ensure that the quality of education and academic rigor remains uncompromised.
Ultimately, the decision to adopt a three-year program will vary from university to university, as each institution will need to carefully weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks in order to determine if such a change is in the best interest of their students. As the conversation surrounding the cost of college continues to gain momentum, it is clear that universities are actively exploring innovative solutions to make higher education more affordable and accessible for all students.
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Video “Universities considering three-year programs to combat cost of college” was uploaded on 08/28/2024 to Youtube Channel NBC News
"Saving time and most importantly, money" Shouldn't it be the other way around. You literally can't get time back, but money is very replaceable
Isn't it too late to combat all the damage that's been done?
Do you mean they'll finally stop forcing computer science majors to take an Art class?
College is a scam. Just like everything else in US.
In England you can get a Bachelor's degree in 3 years. And a Doctoral degree in another 3 years!!!
While all developed countries provide free universities, US college costs are making a handful of people ultra reach with worst education quality.
Bachelor programs at traditional schools have a ton of wasted time in them.
I did a few years with a year round schedule and I enjoyed the variety.
Another trend is stacked degrees where you start with a certificate, then an associate, the bachelor's degree. It has been available for years in programs like nursing but is now expanding to other disciplines. It gives people opportunities to work or take care of family responsibilities.
Ask yourself this why can’t a student walk in on day one take the final exam and prove they know the material and walk out of the classroom if I want to take Finance 310 and I already know the material why do I have to pay to sit through lectures of this material? Why can’t I simply take an exam to prove my knowledge and be given credit for the course? That would be a much cheaper option. Let me take the final exam give you $200 save myself a few dollars if I know the material and pass the exam.
Here’s a different scenario supposed a student is taking a course and a typical college courses 12 to 14 weeks what if that student really is digesting the material at a slower pace and needs 16 weeks to process everything taken exam pass the course. Why do we force students to learn all of the material in a certain timeframe? If you can’t pass this exam in amount of weeks, you failed the class you have to pay to take the entire class again that makes no sense. Why not allow a student who isn’t prepared for the final exam to simply extend the course in 14 weeks you’re not ready for the final exam. Don’t worry give us an extra $250. You can extend the course for a month. I asked the professor questions work on practice material. Take the exam then. Again, it would save the student more money rather than having to take the course all over again, and it would offer dynamic options for learning.
Why does it matter whether a student knows the material on day one or day 101 if they can demonstrate knowledge of the material, we should be willing to say you pass this class. I might even argue that some courses shouldn’t have grades some courses should just be past fail. You either understand the material or you don’t. If you do move along. I would even argue any course, not directly related to your field of study should be P/F
Here’s another great question in line with this video. Why do we have students take so many fluff courses when studying their degrees? If you look at how many courses not related to the field of study, a student has to take it’s almost 2.0 years of material. Why not have students study more coursework related to their degree field or get this not have to study that at all and save some money.
It’s almost as if this is made to be extremely expensive just so you can say I have an education in this field. We can fundamentally change the cost of education, the structure of education and the number of people who are able to get educated but universities don’t want to change because that would mean less money for them
I actually don't understand how it saves money? You pay per credit hour (basically per class), not per year…? Not opposed to the idea of saving time, though!
So education spending far out paces inflation for many many years. Their idea to save money is to provide less instead of cutting their exorbitant prices. I bet the football programs don’t lose a dime.
Ask yourself this why can’t a student walk in on day one take the final exam and prove they know the material and walk out of the classroom if I want to take Finance 310 and I already know the material why do I have to pay to sit through lectures of this material? Why can’t I simply take an exam to prove my knowledge and be given credit for the course? That would be a much cheaper option. Let me take the final exam give you $200 save myself a few dollars if I know the material and pass the exam.
Here’s a different scenario supposed a student is taking a course and a typical college courses 12 to 14 weeks what if that student really is digesting the material at a slower pace and needs 16 weeks to process everything taken exam pass the course. Why do we force students to learn all of the material in a certain timeframe? If you can’t pass this exam in amount of weeks, you failed the class you have to pay to take the entire class again that makes no sense. Why not allow a student who isn’t prepared for the final exam to simply extend the course in 14 weeks you’re not ready for the final exam. Don’t worry give us an extra $250. You can extend the course for a month. I asked the professor questions work on practice material. Take the exam then. Again, it would save the student more money rather than having to take the course all over again, and it would offer dynamic options for learning.
Why does it matter whether a student knows the material on day one or day 101 if they can demonstrate knowledge of the material, we should be willing to say you pass this class. I might even argue that some courses shouldn’t have grades some courses should just be past fail. You either understand the material or you don’t. If you do move along. I would even argue any course, not directly related to your field of study should be P/F
Here’s another great question in line with this video. Why do we have students take so many fluff courses when studying their degrees? If you look at how many courses not related to the field of study, a student has to take it’s almost 2.0 years of material. Why not have students study more coursework related to their degree field or get this not have to study that at all and save some money.
It’s almost as if this is made to be extremely expensive just so you can say I have an education in this field. We can fundamentally change the cost of education, the structure of education and the number of people who are able to get educated but universities don’t want to change because that would mean less money for them people don’t need all of the fluff courses padding their degrees. Go pull up any college degree from your favorite university odds are you will find courses unrelated to the field of study that are student has to take. At most institutions, you will find over a years worth of courses. At most institutions, you will probably find 1.5 years worth of classes. We could drastically shorten the amount of time most people spend in school if we only said you don’t have to take all of this, take what you need to know your field of study. Take just a few elective classes. Take your piece of paper your gown go out into the world now.
It’s almost as if the system is rigged against the student. The loan providers are preying on the students. The colleges and universities are preying on the students. Both institutions could make college more affordable for students, but who wants to do that. Politicians could make college more affordable for students, but who wants to do that. I mean sure they are our future and yeah, we are settling them with obscene amounts of debt I mean, who really wants to help young adults
Degrees today are already watered down with elective courses, not related to the field of study or not elective courses still not related to the field of study. Why are the financial interns at my job studying Chinese calligraphy. Oh, because they had to take a liberal arts elective.
So cutting 25% of what you learn
Why not manufacture CARS with only 3 WHEELS to bring down the price too?!
Maybe don’t build coffee shops, lazy rivers, and massage centers as part of a university?
I never understood why someone needs to pay for so many classes that have nothing to do with their career. College needs to be cheaper and shorter.
oh i see so the solution is provide less rather than charge less.
I’d be happy with a 4 year degree. The problem is taking a full work load for a bachelors, and somehow it took me SEVEN YEARS just to get that! They just want to keep you for however long they can milk your for.
Both my kids had to extend their time at university because of the unavailability of classes. The universities get more money by design or by incompetence and perpetuate class unavailability due to oversubscription. It cost me because we opted not to take out loans.
The problem isn’t the duration of college. The problem is the high salaries of executives and administrators that are driving up the cost of education while the quality teaching is going down.
here's a thought,
how about we scale back admin pay, scale back dorms and other university luxuries, and maybe bring prices down without sacrificing education.
Just remove general education requirements and electives.
Ivy's can get away with 3 year degrees because the quality of their students. I teach in a specialized high school that regularly sends kids to IVY league schools. Their college resumes would make most of you blush. They are not the normal student so its not surprising they can get a 3 yr degree… Not a good comparison.
Of course, Oklahoma is skipped over, like always.
I finished college in 3 years in the 1980s, took more than the 4 year minimum credit load, nonsense anyone thinks less of you about it.
This is really a good idea. The tuition in US is really high and i think most students have already finish most of their credit before senior year.