Ind. Governor Urges Three-Year College Degrees

Interesting article in light of our discussion in last Monday night's class. Full article may be seen at http://www.journalgazette.com/article/20100421/LOCAL/304219986

Colleges urged to increase flexibility
Daniels pitches degrees in 3 years

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels is urging Indiana’s colleges and universities to begin offering three-year bachelor’s degrees that he said would give students a way to “fast forward” their college careers.

Daniels said Monday that three-year degrees would boost the number of Indiana residents with the college degrees he said are crucial to the state’s future workforce.

The governor criticized what he called a “herd ’em in and keep ’em in” campus mentality and called for a new way of thinking that gets students to commencement “as fast as we can.”

“We can’t simply emphasize enrollment any more,” Daniels told an annual gathering of college presidents and higher-education officials in Indianapolis.

Only two Indiana schools – Ball State University and Manchester College – offer an accelerated degree program, and relatively few students take advantage of it.

But cutting out a quarter of school could save some students up to $25,000.