As more students and parents consider the value of higher education and the cost of a four-year degree, interest has grown by three years of opportunity to achieve a student’s tuition in less time.
Westminster College, Pennsylvania, launched new degrees this year in three courses, enabling learners to earn 125 credits to graduate and shaved a year on undergraduate education. Additionally, the program is paired with the college’s MBA, so learners can complete two degrees in four years.
background: Robert Badowski, president of Westminster Business School, explained that there are some catalysts for the development of formal three-year degree programs. First, more and more students earn their degree faster by earning their high school credits or double-enrollment programs. Second, more and more students and parents are paying attention to high education costs and concerns about student debt.
Student voice survey in May 2024 Internal Advanced ED Generation Lab found that one in 10 respondents said that higher education institutions generally had too many accusations of undergraduate education.
Westminster is not the only university facing pressure to graduate early: interest in formal three-year degree programs has grown in recent years, and more institutions are seeking to participate in games, even medical schools.
At Westminster, the college helps students develop their own schedules, not four years instead of four years, but elective courses reviewed and reorganized can help make this accessible to all students.
What are the differences: Westminster students can take up to 19 credits per semester and are considered full-time, but the business plan mainly offers four credit courses, which makes it difficult for students to maximize their credit limits.
“You can take four classes, but if you take the fifth class, you’ll pay extra money, and most students don’t want to take that burden, even if it’s being reduced for a year,” Badowski explained.
Many three-year degree programs reduce the total number of credits students must complete, but Westminster accelerated business students still complete at least 125 credits. To this end, faculty and staff reimagined their four-credit elective course worth one or two credits.
Instead of delving into elective topics, students now gain greater breadth in various fields and are able to accurately reach the 19 credit threshold.
“We have a meeting [with faculty members] As for which courses make sense, we found many courses in the process [content] Badowski said.
The reorganization of elective courses will benefit all business school students, not just those taking accelerated degree programs, giving them more flexibility in scheduling plans.
Bogo Deal: In addition to canceling costs associated with attending college, the degree in three programs allows students to pair with undergraduate and graduate degrees on a four-year schedule.
“We have a very neat protocol that if students want to take an MBA program in the last semester of high school, then they’re OK,” Badowski said. “We don’t charge for MBA programs, so they kind of abandoned the program.”
The product is particularly attractive to student-athletes at the academy, many of whom want to use it for four years.
Badowski said the MBA price in Westminster is also about $10,000, so the price of a three-year MBA degree that students spend more than three years on undergraduate programs is less.
What’s next: Badowski said administrators are working to raise awareness of dedication among potential students, especially parents, who “will look at it and hope to go, ‘I can help my kids save a year of tuition and maybe get them out of college faster,’” Badowski said.
The college has no specific admission targets, but Badowski expects to see 20 in the first year and continue to grow after that. “I hope people find it useful to them, [because] They still earn the same amount of credits. They are taking the same course as everyone else, which is faster. ”
Get more content directly to your inbox. Subscribe here.
