3 years and out: Some colleges speed graduation
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Kayla Fekete, 18, is part of Chatham University's new three-year bachelor's degree program. She is studying interior architecture and is taking 21 credits this semester.
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Kayleigh Dickie is determined not to take a leisurely path through college.
In fact, the California University of Pennsylvania student went so far as sign a pact in which CalU pledges to help her finish on time if she agrees, among other things, to give a campus adviser greater say in the courses she picks.
Signing a "four-year graduation plan agreement" may sound extreme, but the elementary education major said it beats the alternative: wasting money on unnecessary electives, or finding out that a course required to graduate isn't offered her senior year.
Kayla Fekete is moving even faster. The Chatham University student squeezes in extra courses each semester for an interior architecture bachelor's program created to be finished in three years instead of four, with no summer study.
MAKING TIME
- Day One: How schools use the time allotted to them.
- Day Two: What schools do with the extra time in a school day.
- Day Three: Students can make up time they've missed or wasted.
- Day Four: Some colleges plan to offer three-year bachelor degrees.
"I know I'll probably want to kill myself afterward," she quipped about the 21 credits she's taking now. "It's worth it."
Just how long should a four-year college degree take?
With students taking longer to finish an ever-more-expensive education, families and schools alike are under pressure to speed things up.
A small number of campuses, including Chatham, have responded by creating three-year versions of certain bachelor's programs. Other schools have tried graduation incentives or agreements to nudge undergraduates along.
State legislatures are weighing in, too.
Pennsylvania spends millions of dollars annually on dual-enrollment programs allowing students to start accruing college credits while still in high school. Rhode Island law now requires the board overseeing public campuses in that state to develop ways for more students to finish a year of college while in high school.
In other states, including Virginia and North Carolina, public campus stragglers who remain well beyond the 120 credits needed for a bachelor's degree face tuition surcharges, in some cases approaching out-of-state rates.
First Published September 8, 2010 12:00 am
