Georgia Perimeter College this fall will begin a program leading to a three-year bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southwestern State University.
The degrees will be in accounting and business management, Georgia Perimeter President Anthony Tricoli said. They will be awarded through a partnership between Georgia Perimeter, a two-year college with campuses throughout metro Atlanta, and Georgia Southwestern, a four-year college in Americus.
To cram four years into three, students will take more courses each semester and attend college year-round, including during summer. Students will take courses on campus or online.
About 4 percent of college students already graduate in three years by devising their own fast-track degree programs. But this would be the first formal three-year program in Georgia to be organized and promoted by a college.
“Colleges don’t have to keep operating the way they’ve always run,” Tricoli said. “We are trying to give students more options.”
More colleges are considering three-year programs to save students time and money. While the discussions have been going on for years, there is a sense of urgency now because of the recession. Many also are questioning what a college education should look like in the 21st century.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. and a former U.S. education secretary, has stressed the need for three-year degrees. The Rhode Island General Assembly passed two bills in October to clear the way for students to earn three-year degrees. Hartwick College in upstate New York, Lipscomb University in Nashville and others have announced plans for such programs.
Tricoli and Kendall Blanchard, the president of Georgia Southwestern, discussed the idea a couple of weeks ago after a meeting for all the college presidents in the University System of Georgia.
"At one level you could say this is not in our best interest because we will be getting less tuition and state money," Blanchard said. "But we are putting our own financial interest aside for the students. It's better for them to save money and get a degree sooner."
About 57 percent of college students take four years to earn a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Department of Education. About 39 percent take longer, and the balance -- about 4 percent -- earn it in three years.
Many of those three-year students attend research institutions, such as Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, and start freshman year with college credits earned in high school through Advanced Placement courses and other high-achieving programs.
Blanchard said program details are still being worked out. Students will still be required to earn 120 credit hours, but instead of taking 30 credits each year for four years, they will take 40 credits each year for three years, he said.
Proponents say the program is ideal for students who know what they want to study and don't mind the heavier course loads. Three-year diplomas are common at colleges across Europe.
The program isn't for everyone. Some students benefit from the social skills and extra-curricular activities accumulated during four years of college. A fourth year provides extra time for internships and study-abroad programs. Supporters also said it would be difficult to design three-year programs for many science majors because of the extensive lab and course work required.
"We don't want to take the heart and life out of the college experience for these kids," Blanchard said. "We're going to look at ways to make sure they still get college life. They can get that at Georgia Southwestern."
Blanchard said he hopes students from metro Atlanta will decided to live at the Americus campus, instead of just taking courses online. The school enrolls about 2,900 students.
Tricoli said it’s hard to predict how many students will enroll in the program. He predicted more three-year degrees would be added through partnerships between Georgia Perimeter and other four-year colleges.
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