Condensed College:
Does graduating in 3 years benefit or stunt education?
By Margaret Freeland and Liz Essley
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Opinion
Margaret Freeland
Three-year college is an idea that seems to be catching on across the nation. In a recent Newsweek article enticingly titled "The Three-Year Solution," Lamar Alexander points out that a number of colleges already offer three-year programs, and more are starting them. Colleges with three-year programs usually require students to graduate with the same number of total credits. This means students must come in with credits, take summer sessions, or both.
Currently, a Hillsdale College student entering with no prior credits could accomplish this feat by taking 18 credits each semester and attending both summer sessions every year. Since many students come in with AP, CLEP, or community college credits, the load might be lighter for some.
Eighteen credits per semester is a heavy load, but many students already take large semesters at some point in their college career in order to meet deadlines set by their majors. Highly motivated students would unquestionably benefit from the chance to expedite their undergraduate education. The money they save might even enable some to pursue higher education who could not otherwise do so.
For students with years of school still ahead of them, such as pre-med majors, the idea of saving a year and a few thousand dollars has to be appealing. Less time spent on a bachelor's degree equals an earlier start on a career.
However, there are a few drawbacks, Alexander admits. Students who don't know what they want to major in will have less time to explore their options. There will also be less time for extracurricular activities, social interaction, and just "growing up."
Yet these drawbacks are not as bad as they appear at first glance.
First, hard-working students know how to be social while still getting plenty of work done. They choose their social opportunities carefully so that they have a balance of work and recreation.
Second, students who know early on what they want to major in are usually very passionate about that field of study, so they will be satisfied with fewer extracurricular activities: their classes are fun in themselves.
Third, there are plenty of ways to "grow up" without getting drunk, smoking or frittering away time on Facebook - like learning, thinking, and growing in the academic setting. That's what we came to college for anyway, isn't it?
For any motivated student - or any poor student willing to work hard - three-year college is not a new fad but a realistic option for expediting their education, saving money, and experiencing tremendous personal growth.
Liz Essley
Most people realize that higher education is in a heap of trouble these days.
Tuition continues to skyrocket nationwide; students take an average of more than six years to graduate; old and respected institutions are taking radical steps - such as selling off chunks of endowment - just to stay afloat financially.
In the face of these troubles, big names are calling for radical change, including a switch to three-year degrees. Robert Zemsky, an education professor at the University of Pennsylvania, argues for this in his book "Making Reform Work: The Case for Transforming American Higher Education," released this September. And Lamar Alexander, current U.S. senator and former Secretary of Education and University of Tennessee president, argued that three-year degrees were akin to fuel-efficient cars in his Oct. 17 Newsweek article.
I think this switch would be misguided, for two main reasons.
First, this proposal assumes that people attend college to gain a certain set of information, a list of facts, figures and skills that can just as easily be attained in three years as four, if a student works hard. This may be true for vocational schools and community colleges, but that's not supposed to be the goal of the traditional liberal arts college experience.
Liberal arts students study so that their hearts may be attuned to beauty, that their souls may be shaped by knowledge, that their intellect will be sharpened enough to discern truth in every situation. Though we may, along the way, learn how to use a spreadsheet, that's not what we're here for. As cliche as it sounds, we're here for higher things. And ideally, we'd be able to study those as long as possible. Even four years may not be enough. A three-year liberal arts degree would only stunt education, not enhance it.
Second, college is more than classes and credits. We gather together to learn from each other - in the classrooms, on the intramural fields, in the dormitories. This kind of college experience continues to be threatened by advocates of community colleges and online degrees. A three-year degree would further devalue a college education by agreeing with critics who consider college's extracurricular and social aspects extraneous. A three-year degree would confirm to the world that American education really is about rushing through the credits, rather than learning to be a better person.
Stick with four years, colleges of America. We can't be here in school forever, obviously. But while we're here, let us linger.
Three-year college is an idea that seems to be catching on across the nation. In a recent Newsweek article enticingly titled "The Three-Year Solution," Lamar Alexander points out that a number of colleges already offer three-year programs, and more are starting them. Colleges with three-year programs usually require students to graduate with the same number of total credits. This means students must come in with credits, take summer sessions, or both.
Currently, a Hillsdale College student entering with no prior credits could accomplish this feat by taking 18 credits each semester and attending both summer sessions every year. Since many students come in with AP, CLEP, or community college credits, the load might be lighter for some.
Eighteen credits per semester is a heavy load, but many students already take large semesters at some point in their college career in order to meet deadlines set by their majors. Highly motivated students would unquestionably benefit from the chance to expedite their undergraduate education. The money they save might even enable some to pursue higher education who could not otherwise do so.
For students with years of school still ahead of them, such as pre-med majors, the idea of saving a year and a few thousand dollars has to be appealing. Less time spent on a bachelor's degree equals an earlier start on a career.
However, there are a few drawbacks, Alexander admits. Students who don't know what they want to major in will have less time to explore their options. There will also be less time for extracurricular activities, social interaction, and just "growing up."
Yet these drawbacks are not as bad as they appear at first glance.
First, hard-working students know how to be social while still getting plenty of work done. They choose their social opportunities carefully so that they have a balance of work and recreation.
Second, students who know early on what they want to major in are usually very passionate about that field of study, so they will be satisfied with fewer extracurricular activities: their classes are fun in themselves.
Third, there are plenty of ways to "grow up" without getting drunk, smoking or frittering away time on Facebook - like learning, thinking, and growing in the academic setting. That's what we came to college for anyway, isn't it?
For any motivated student - or any poor student willing to work hard - three-year college is not a new fad but a realistic option for expediting their education, saving money, and experiencing tremendous personal growth.
Liz Essley
Most people realize that higher education is in a heap of trouble these days.
Tuition continues to skyrocket nationwide; students take an average of more than six years to graduate; old and respected institutions are taking radical steps - such as selling off chunks of endowment - just to stay afloat financially.
In the face of these troubles, big names are calling for radical change, including a switch to three-year degrees. Robert Zemsky, an education professor at the University of Pennsylvania, argues for this in his book "Making Reform Work: The Case for Transforming American Higher Education," released this September. And Lamar Alexander, current U.S. senator and former Secretary of Education and University of Tennessee president, argued that three-year degrees were akin to fuel-efficient cars in his Oct. 17 Newsweek article.
I think this switch would be misguided, for two main reasons.
First, this proposal assumes that people attend college to gain a certain set of information, a list of facts, figures and skills that can just as easily be attained in three years as four, if a student works hard. This may be true for vocational schools and community colleges, but that's not supposed to be the goal of the traditional liberal arts college experience.
Liberal arts students study so that their hearts may be attuned to beauty, that their souls may be shaped by knowledge, that their intellect will be sharpened enough to discern truth in every situation. Though we may, along the way, learn how to use a spreadsheet, that's not what we're here for. As cliche as it sounds, we're here for higher things. And ideally, we'd be able to study those as long as possible. Even four years may not be enough. A three-year liberal arts degree would only stunt education, not enhance it.
Second, college is more than classes and credits. We gather together to learn from each other - in the classrooms, on the intramural fields, in the dormitories. This kind of college experience continues to be threatened by advocates of community colleges and online degrees. A three-year degree would further devalue a college education by agreeing with critics who consider college's extracurricular and social aspects extraneous. A three-year degree would confirm to the world that American education really is about rushing through the credits, rather than learning to be a better person.
Stick with four years, colleges of America. We can't be here in school forever, obviously. But while we're here, let us linger.
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