Finish your Bachelors Degree in THREE years!

I’m watching Fox News the other week and they’re having a discussion about colleges offering three-year Bachelors degree. Why are these colleges redefining their education curriculum? Would I have completed my degree in three years if given the chance?

It’s not comfortable to adapt easily to changes. There are advantages and disadvantages to be considered. When I’m in high school, we were surveyed if we would like to finish high school for five years (in Philippines, we finish high school for four years only). Of course, majority are against of this proposal of the Department of Education. Another year means another high school costs. Also, we wanted to get into college after four years in high school.

Now that the Bachelors degree is offered for three years, would the students grab this opportunity? I don’t think so.The idea has hardly caught fire, despite rising college costs. Students seem to like spending at least four years in college. Three years is the norm for undergraduate degrees in Philippines, in Europe and maybe in the whole world. It’s hard to alter the norm. The faculty, too, may object and worry about standards.

When Upper Iowa University offered the option a few years ago, just five students took it — but all decided to stay four years after all. Nobody has signed up since.
A three-year degree "would be attractive to someone who knows right now what they want to do with the rest of their lives," said Lincoln Morris, Upper Iowa's vice president for enrollment management. "Most students don't have it all figured out right now, and that's fine."

On the other hand, The Degree in 3 Program enables you to complete your degree in less time, allowing you to begin your career or graduate studies sooner. The program can help families and students offset the cost of a college education by somewhat reducing direct costs, and through the time they save, students can increase their lifetime earnings by up to one year's salary as what the Ball State University claims.

Hartwick College announced last February 24, 2009 the launch of a unique Three-Year Bachelor's Degree Program, beginning in fall 2009. Its Liberal Arts in Practice curriculum, upon which the new Three-Year Degree Program is built, combines traditional liberal arts study and experiential learning, and maintains the personalized teaching for which the College is known.

The new program is designed to cut more than $40,000 off the current cost of earning a Hartwick undergraduate degree, eliminating over $30,000 in tuition, and more than $9,000 in fees for room and board. This represents a savings to students and their families of approximately 25 percent.

Does this program has a strong support from the faculty? Absolutely YES!. "The Three-Year Bachelor's Degree Program is not a shortcut to graduation," said Reid Golden, Professor of Sociology and a faculty advocate for the initiative. "It will give students choosing to finish in three years the same opportunities for internships, off-campus study, research, athletics, and other innovative programming that all other students enjoy. This new option provides a chance for academically talented students to gain an exceptional liberal arts education, as well as start their careers or graduate school a year earlier and at a significantly reduced cost."

We may wonder, what eligible majors you can complete in three years? They are the following:

Accounting
Anthropology
Business Administration
Communication Studies
Public Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Organizational Communication
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Economics
Business
Financial Analyst
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Corporate Financial Management
Financial Institutions
Financial Planning
History (Option 1; without an internship)
Human Resources and Organizational Behavior
Information Systems
International Business
Marketing
Nursing
Operations Management
Philosophy
Political Science
Predental
Premedical
Psychology
Religious Studies
Risk Management and Insurance
Social Work
Sociology
Women's Studies

How about you? Would you (have) completed your degree in three years if given the chance?