At least eight others are severing ties to Russell, including Purdue (Ind.), the University of Washington, the University of Montana, New York University, Columbia (N.Y.), Georgetown (D.C.), Penn State, and Rutgers (N.J.). —Michele Herrmann
Growing Acceptance for Three-Year Programs
AT THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON Education’s annual meeting in February, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), an education secretary under Pres. George H.W. Bush and a former University of Tennessee president, suggested that higher ed leaders develop three-year baccalaureate programs so students could finish college in less time and at less cost. Two weeks later, Hartwick College (N.Y.) announced such a program, to begin next fall.
The timing of these events was coincidental. Yet they indicate a shift in thinking about the path to a bachelor’s degree. As students and parents struggle to afford college, the nation is realizing that a stronger economic future depends on having an educated population.
Hartwick’s program will be available for 22 majors, and as long as students take 18 credits per semester and four credits during the January term, they can complete their degrees in three years, without summer school.
The college joins other schools with three-year options in place. Students in Manchester College’s (Ind.) Fast Forward program take 16 credits per semester, a course in the January term, and a part-time summer course load offered online. Every major is eligible. At Judson College (Ala.), the “2-10 option” (two years and 10 months) allows students to finish a year early by taking classes during the regular school year (September through April) and then in a concentrated May-June term. In place since the 1970s, the option has proved popular. “A lot of students want to get their undergrad as quickly as possible so they can go on to grad school,” says Charlotte Clements, VP for admissions and financial aid and herself a former 2-10 participant. Other schools offering three-year programs include Ball State University (Ind.), Valparaiso University (Ind.), and Middlebury College (Vt.).
Individual institutions aren’t the only ones looking to streamline the higher ed process. In 2008 the state of Ohio piloted Seniors to Sophomores to help give qualifying high school seniors the chance to complete a year of college at any University System of Ohio institution while still enrolled in high school. “Students actually spend their senior year on the college campus,” says Michael Chaney, chief communications officer for the Ohio Board of Regents, which administers the program. That first year of college comes at no cost to program participants.
More recently, Rhode Island legislators introduced a bill that would allow students to complete their degree at the University of Rhode Island or Rhode Island College in three years, with credit granted for advanced placement and dual-enrollment courses taken during high school. If the bill becomes law, a three-year pilot program will be launched in 2010. —Don Parker-Burgard
BETWEEN THE LINES
Generational Shockwaves and the Implications for Higher Education
Edited by Donald E. Heller and Madeleine B. d’Ambrosio
Edward Elgar Publishing, www.e-elgar.co.uk, 2009; 191 pp.; $100
PART OF THE TIAA-CREF INSTITUTE SERIES on Higher Education, this book explores the management of three generations of students, faculty, and administrators, considering their different values, perspectives, and priorities. Its 12 chapters, written by higher ed thought leaders, examine how administrators must rethink strategies to attract and retain faculty and to interest a new generation of learners.
In “As Baby Boomers Retire,” for example, Valerie Martin Conley, director of the Center for Higher Education at Ohio University, covers faculty transitions into retirement. Among her 10 recommendations: calculate a Retiree Benefit Risk index for groups of employees; consider benefits for all employees, including part-time faculty; and invest in education and services to increase individual knowledge on retirement planning. Another chapter on boomers examines how their retirement will affect colleges.
