Three-Year Bachelor's Degrees Could Save Families Thousands Of Dollars—But Are Students Prepared?

Amidst the backdrop of economic uncertainty and the ballooning cost of higher education, advocates of three-year bachelor’s degrees have pushed the truncated degree path as a means of alleviating financial strain on both students and families. Historically, calls to restructure the four-year degree path have fallen flat—but the current economic landscape and changing attitudes toward higher education have re-invigorated interest in the three-year bachelor’s degree.

The need to address the cost of higher education is clear—tuition and fees have jumped 134% at private national universities, while in-state tuition and fees have jumped 175% at public universities over the past twenty years. Seeking to offset these astronomical costs, nearly 70% of students work while in school, and more than half of students graduate with debt, the average of which amounts to nearly $30,000. The years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have also seen precipitous drops in the number of students enrolling in higher education.

Three-year degree programs are generally more economical than traditional four-year programs, allowing students to save money on tuition and living expenses and enter the full-time workforce expeditiously. The increasing interest in three-year degree programs is also a reflection of the ways in which colleges are seeking to meet the evolving needs and expectations of students—many students are looking for more flexible options that allow them to balance work and school, while others are seeking specialized programs that will provide them with the tangible skills they need to succeed in their careers.

Since 2009, University of Pennsylvania professor Robert Zemsky has argued in favor of a simplified path to a college degree, noting in part that the bachelor’s degree has largely become a stepping stone for further study at the master’s level, leaving students in a transition zone between educational and professional milestones for too long. Earlier this April, he partnered with Lori Carrell, chancellor at the University of Minnesota at Rochester, to convene a gathering of a dozen schools willing to implement pilot programs. A mix of public and private institutions of varying sizes and demographic makeups were each given the opportunity to design a three-year curriculum that meets the unique needs of students, faculty, and accreditation requirements.

While graduating in three years rather than in four allows students to begin their career or pursue advanced degrees sooner, increasing their likelihood of earning a higher salary over their lifetime, many students may be unprepared for the demands that accompany an accelerated track.

Jon Marcus notes in The Washington Post that though advocates for shortened bachelor’s degrees have proposed a 90-credit bachelor’s requirement, the requirement of 120 credits currently remains. This means that three-year degree programs would necessitate that students take summer classes or heavier course loads each semester, adding greater strain on their time and capabilities.

Additionally, many students face widespread mental health issues. Some soon-to-be college students still struggle to recover from the stunting effect of the pandemic on their mental, social, and emotional development. This begs the question: Are students prepared to enter the workforce more expeditiously? Even for the most well-adjusted students, the four years of college are an important season of social and emotional development, as well as exploration and self-discovery. Surveys indicate that even with the four years of study that college affords, students feel unprepared for the challenges of the workforce. A 2023 study from the Mary Christie Institute reports: “More than one third (39%) of respondents said their college did not help them develop skills to prepare them for the emotional or behavioral impact of the transition to the workplace.” Thrusting students into the workforce even earlier would necessitate that colleges and universities invest in programs that would prepare students for the transition.

Streamlining a student’s curricular focus could also lead a student prematurely into a field that they will not ultimately be content with or close them off to the opportunity to explore more varied interests, gaining valuable skills in the process.

Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges & Universities, notes that having a dynamic liberal arts curriculum, rather than simply padding students’ degrees with unnecessary electives and general studies courses, provides students with diverse perspectives and skills—a benefit which employers value. She states: “[E]mployers consistently make clear their desire that students have more than narrow disciplinary training, and broad training in the liberal arts and sciences that allows them to integrate what they’ve learned in different disciplines to address the unscripted problems of the future.”

Given the current state of higher education in America, a three-year bachelor’s degree program could indeed be a means of increasing equity and easing the financial burden on families. But in order for such a program to succeed, it must take into account students’ holistic development and the value of a college degree in support of that development. While seeking to expedite graduates’ degree completion and minimizing the financial impact of a college degree, colleges and universities exploring three-year degrees must be mindful of the social, emotional, and behavioral impact of a shortened college experience.