In an effort to give more students the opportunity to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree and enter the workforce early, the legislature passed , 鈥�.鈥� The bill, which was delivered to the Governor for approval on April 12th, requires institutions of higher education to provide degree programs that enable academically qualified students to graduate in three years. The bill does not explicitly define 鈥渁cademically qualified students,鈥� thereby leaving it up to the higher education institutions to make their own rules. According to the bill, qualified students must not be required to enroll in summer school or take a more than full-time credit load in any term in order to graduate early. They must also be able to take classes in their major starting in their first term. The legislature hopes this will have a positive effect on graduation rates, as well as lower the cost of a baccalaureate degree for both the state and the student.
Of course, the idea of three-year degree programs is not new. In fact, with 45 credits or more can already, with attentive advising and careful planning, earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in three years. However, the degree must still meet the same university requirements as those earned in four years. While legislators want to make it easier to apply existing credits to students鈥� degrees, those students must still earn and meet all distribution requirements. With more and more students coming into the 91探花with AP and IB credit, this option has become increasingly attractive to students eager to graduate and enter the work force. However, others have actually found that the push to graduate in three (or fewer) years is detrimental to their college experience. This prompted the giving students the right to waive excess AP and IB credits if they so choose. Either way, students鈥� options for shaping their educational experience, be it three years or four, are likely increasing.