The Collegian

Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Chuck Grimmett

In these days of advanced placement, dual enrollment and transferable credits, Hillsdale students are increasingly considering earning an undergraduate degree in three rather than four years.

One such person is Hillsdale senior Anna Sawyer. For Sawyer, the idea of getting a four-year degree in only three years at Hillsdale was "mostly financial necessity."

After graduating from high school in 2006, Sawyer attended community college for a year.

"I was able to get my science classes out of the way," she said. "Some classes didn't transfer, but all the credits did." The result for her has been a per-semester load of 16 to 18 credits, which she called "doable."

Lauren Gracey, who qualifies as a junior after only three semesters at Hillsdale, has a similar story. She attended community college during her junior and senior years as a high school homeschooler.

"I came in with a lot of credits, so it was an easy decision to make," Gracey said. "It is something I would recommend, although I don't know how I would have done it if I hadn't transferred in credits."

Gracey did concede, however, that she feels she's missed out on some of the liberal arts fields, citing the classics department as one in which she has had little chance to dabble.

This kind of missed opportunity is Associate Provost David Whalen's chief concern regarding three year degrees.

"I understand practical necessity and constraints," Whalen said. "But these four years are virtually irreplaceable. Time is not just an irrelevant component, it's not just a necessary pre-condition, it's part of what it means to be liberally educated."

Whalen said he often hears former students and their parents voicing their desire return to and further explore the liberal arts fields they took for granted while in college.

Although he said transferring from a community college is a valid way to save money and still receive a thorough four year education, Whalen also stressed the importance of laying the ground work.

Despite the financial incentive, Financial Aid Director Richard Moeggenberg said getting a degree in three years is still atypical for Hillsdale students.

"If it's a purely vocational thing - 'I want to finish in three years and go on to med or law school' - there are those who do it, but it's not the norm," he said.

Moeggenberg also said many freshmen who are initially daunted by Hillsdale's tuition end up borrowing less by their senior year.

"There are always opportunities to earn gift aid or scholarships," he said.

"I would love for people to have a four-year education here," Moeggenberg said, "but three is better than none."

Sawyer had a similar attitude. "If you have the opportunity to be here for four years, you should take advantage of it," she said, but she said she doesn't feel she has missed out on a genuine college experience.

"Once I realized I didn't need a minor, that gave me a lot of credits to do what I wanted with," she said.

Whalen said he also understands that some students have no choice but to try for a degree in a shorter period of time.

"Some liberal arts education is better than none," he said. "But other than out of sheer necessity, someone should spend at least four years here."

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