What if you didn’t have to spend four years in college to secure your bachelor’s degree? Well, a new guideline is actually making that a reality for certain majors.
Last week, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents changed its credit hour needs for a bachelor’s degree in some programs. Keep scrolling to learn more.
Wait… what’s going on?
A new change in Georgia’s college system states that instead of the traditional 120-credit hour bachelor’s degree requirement, some majors will only require 90-credit hour to earn the degree.
This means that students would be able to graduate a full year faster, in three years instead of four.
According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
The approved USG policy did not specify how credits would be reduced. But other schools, such as Johnson & Wales University in R.I., have structured the programs so that students don’t need to take electives outside of the core general education requirements
What majors will this apply to?
As of now, the University System has not specified which programs the new credit hour criteria would apply to, other than “high-demand career areas” (AJC).
Advocates for the three-year programs say this plan makes getting a degree more efficient, while critics call the new three-year degrees ‘cutting corners.’
Some proponents of the new guidelines state that this will benefit non-traditional students and adult learners who come back to school after time off.
According to the AJC, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission president Stephen Pruitt, said in a statement,
The goal is not to replace the traditional bachelor’s degree, but to provide institutions with a structured pathway to explore innovation responsibly.
Right now, no one is sure if this new 90-credit-hour plan will be helpful or hurtful to students and the workforce in the long run.