Students still rarely take advantage of shorter, potentially less expensive pathway to Bachelor's degree.
When Andrea Miller, a junior studying psychology, began her undergraduate career at Ohio University, she did so with one goal in mind: She wanted to graduate before seeing her fourth year in college.
Though it may seem untraditional, Miller is not alone in her decision. In fact, she is among the 1.8 percent of OU students as of 2014 who choose to pursue a three-year degree pathway, working to achieve all of the credit hours of a traditional bachelor’s degree within the span of three academic years.
The number of students graduating in three years has barely grown since 2007 when the Office of Institutional Research estimated the amount at 1 percent.
Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Effectiveness Barbara Wharton said in an email that 35 percent of new freshman enter with some prior credit hours, but a large portion do not use those hours to graduate early.
“With such a small percent graduating in three years, we do not report specifically (the amount) in terms of how many hours they have transferred in,” Wharton said in an email.
The majority of students graduating in three years earn either a degree in psychology, like Miller will, or in sociology-criminology, Wharton said in an email.
According to OU's three-degree option website, students looking to graduate early need to begin their first year with 30 credit hours or more, which tend to be acquired through Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or the College Level Examination Program. Students can also earn credit through taking courses a regional community college.
However, University Registrar Debra Benton said first-year students entering with 30 credit hours are automatically sophomores, effectively skipping their freshman year.
"The student standing – freshman, sophomore, junior or senior – is based strictly on credit hours earned," she said.
Miller, who arrived on campus with only 12 credits as a freshman, said she bolstered her schedule with summer classes during her sophomore year, adding to the credit hours she had earned from the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program at her high school.
“I knew a 3-year graduation pathway was right for me because I am confident with my career path with becoming a counselor,” Miller said in an email. “I chose to take summer classes my sophomore year to ensure that graduating early would be a reality.”
With the intention of providing a less-costly option in the midst of rising tuition costs, by 2012, the Ohio legislature required state universities to submit three-year graduation plans for 10 percent of their programs, as of 2014, that number had increased to 60 percent, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
During October’s Board of Trustees meetings, board members discussed one way to cut costs for students would be to implement a wider use of three-year degree programs.
The estimated savings of taking only three years to complete the traditional four-year degree program could save a student $2,093.35, according to information presented during the board's joint academics and resources committee meeting.
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Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding said during the meeting 46 percent of OU students graduate from programs where they are eligible to graduate in three years.
“I know that graduating early isn't for everyone. Some people aren't ready to start their careers and enter the ‘real world,’” Miller, who estimates her personal savings to amount to roughly $4,000, said in an email. “For financial reasons I think graduating early is beneficial, though.”
Rachel Finch, a sophomore studying nursing said most people stay for four years to stick to the normal way of doing things.
“I feel like people who stay just want to get the full experience and be here for as long as possible," Finch said.
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