HLC is considering degrees with fewer than 120 credits

[jimbogumbo]

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/09/04/largest-accreditor-review-reduced-credit-bachelors-degrees

[treeoflife]

Other agencies are already there. Institutions in WV, UT and I believe OR have already enrolled students in three years programs.

[Ruralguy]

I don't think there's anything sacred about 120 credits.

For the typical hard working and somewhat intelligent student, 120 is a little too high. So, I'm not talking about handing out degrees to everyone by making degrees super easy and less than, say, 100 credits. But something closer to 100 (based on typical 3 cred courses) is more realistic for most students who we also want involved in other activities.

[spork]

If I remember correctly, equating a bachelor's degree with 120 credits in the U.S. originated about 100 years ago, soon after the adoption of the Carnegie unit/credit hour, which defined amount learned = time spent sitting in a classroom. Neither convention is a fundamental physical law of the universe.

The natural end point of the shift to three-year bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. will be the elimination of gen ed requirements, which at many institutions only exist to provide job security for faculty members.

[kaysixteen]

Hmmmm... Dear Alma Mater has never awarded 'credits' for classes-- each class counts the same, and the rule is that students normally need to take 4 courses a semester, plus one January term class, x4yrs, and they graduate.   Students can petition to take an extra class each semester, and a student who fails a class this semester must do that next semester.  IOW, the magic formula is intimately tied to four years of college.  Making college three years cuts a lot out, and as spork says that mostly will be gen ed reqs, which are of course largely an American phenomenon.  Students will be the losers if this is eliminated.

[dismalist]

 

Making college three years cuts a lot out, and as spork says that mostly will be gen ed reqs, which are of course largely an American phenomenon.  Students will be the losers if this is eliminated.

No, faculty would lose their jobs. Better to have two-year degrees, not three year. Students would lose nothing and gain a couple of years of their lives.

Take English: This is America! Nobody speaks English.

[Hibush]

The Northwest Commission approved a 90-credit program already. The degreee is fully online, designed specifically for Mormons who would not otherwise go to college. That focus is pretty specialized.

[kaysixteen]

And what do these (mostly) Mormon students get with this quickie degree program?

Also, without trying to fall into the slippery slope fallacy, if four years can be reduced to three, what is to stop three from being reduced to two, etc?

[Hibush]

And what do these (mostly) Mormon students get with this quickie degree program?

Also, without trying to fall into the slippery slope fallacy, if four years can be reduced to three, what is to stop three from being reduced to two, etc?

The goal is some career prep.

It is relevant to this thread that the three-year degree is offered mostly through BYU-Idaho, which is growing quickly. They anticipate hiring more faculty to help cover the increased demand that comes through the three-year program.

[treeoflife]

There are others. Last year there was one approved for a school in WV, also fully online and the degree will be A.B.S (Applied Bachelor of Science) in cyber security if I am not mistaken. There was also approval to similar programs in Utah and Oregon. It is simply a matter of time before it reaches a college near you.
 

[jimbogumbo]

There are others. Last year there was one approved for a school in WV, also fully online and the degree will be A.B.S (Applied Bachelor of Science) in cyber security if I am not mistaken. There was also approval to similar programs in Utah and Oregon. It is simply a matter of time before it reaches a college near you.
 

That's actuallly (along with the demise of gen ed) why I posted this. HLC accredits a ton of publics, and I predict they will use this option as a recruitment tool and to save salary costs. It will be everywhere, and in all majors.

[Wahoo Redux]

end point of the shift to three-year bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. will be the elimination of gen ed requirements, which at many institutions only exist to provide job security for faculty members.

And is part of how we (or at least some of us) would describe and "educated" person.

Job training is something else.

And we are all so screwed when one of us begins to describe the work of their colleagues as "only...job security."  Yep, that's all we cared about in academia.  We just want those plushy, high-paying jobs, just like a bunch of rock stars we are.

[marshwiggle]

end point of the shift to three-year bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. will be the elimination of gen ed requirements, which at many institutions only exist to provide job security for faculty members.

And is part of how we (or at least some of us) would describe and "educated" person.

So does that mean people who finished high school but went no farther are  "uneducated"?

[ciao_yall]

end point of the shift to three-year bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. will be the elimination of gen ed requirements, which at many institutions only exist to provide job security for faculty members.

And is part of how we (or at least some of us) would describe and "educated" person.

So does that mean people who finished high school but went no farther are  "uneducated"?

I think we generally consider high school about learning facts and figures and exposure to basic canonical literature.

A college student has more maturity and is exposed to much more complex theories and ideas, plus they can build on the basics they learned in high school.

[Wahoo Redux]

end point of the shift to three-year bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. will be the elimination of gen ed requirements, which at many institutions only exist to provide job security for faculty members.

And is part of how we (or at least some of us) would describe and "educated" person.

So does that mean people who finished high school but went no farther are  "uneducated"?

Depends on who is speaking, what they are speaking about, and how pedantic and "got'cha" you wish to be, Marshmellow.