It might not be for everyone but the “Degree in Three” program could be beneficial to many students who are self-motivated and with higher tuition and schools facing tight budgets programs like this one could be beneficial to both school and student.
St. Petersburg Times
By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
Monday, December 28, 2009
As a teenager, Christina Cruz was so organized that she planned her Sweet 16 party six months in advance.
As a freshman at Florida State University, she arrived with 30 credit hours from dual enrollment and advanced placement courses.
And this month, she graduated from FSU summa cum laude after just 2 1/2 years, thanks to her laser focus and FSU’s Degree in Three program, which gave her a special adviser and priority class registration.
“I would definitely recommend it to others who are self-motivated,” she says.
With students facing higher tuition and universities coping with tight budgets, some education leaders have urged expanding programs that help students earn a bachelor’s degree in three years. This fall, former U.S. Education Secretary Lamar Alexander laid out the case for offering three-year degrees in a cover story for Newsweek.
“Geniuses have always breezed through,” wrote Alexander, a Republican senator from Tennessee. Most others take longer. On average, according to the U.S. Department of Education, undergraduates take about 55 months to earn a bachelor’s degree.
