Editorial: College, a multiple-choice quest

Here's a college program to gladden the hearts of tuition-paying parents. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has developed a program to help highly motivated students graduate in three years.

It's not for everyone, but high-profile three-year programs could increase the affordability of college and — dare one hope — influence other students to speed up their higher education.

Snagging a diploma from a four-year institution in three years is relatively simple for students who have college credits before they step on campus, thanks to Advanced Placement courses and other programs. To qualify for the UNCG program, a student has to already have 12 credits — the equivalent of four standard courses. That's a good head start.

Graduating a year early from UNCG saves the student and his family about $8,000 in tuition, fees, room and board — and debt, in many cases. At a private college, the figure would be much higher.

The three-year program is swimming against the tide, a tide that needs to turn. Taking five or six years to graduate has become the norm, threatening to make "four-year college" an archaic phrase. According to a 2008 report from the National Center for Education Statistics, just 36 percent of first-time, full-time undergraduates at U.S. colleges earned a degree in four years. This not only hits their parents' wallets; it also drives up the cost of higher education. Colleges are supposed to produce graduates, not residents.

As usual, there's more than one way of looking at the issue. Saving money is one thing, but what about molding the student? Spokesperson Tonia Black-Gold says Catawba College is not considering a three-year program because its mission is to "concentrate on the whole student." In addition to earning academic credits, young people are expected to acquire some maturity and improve their social skills in college. "So," says Black-Gold, "while we could run a program that would allow students to graduate in three years, it would come at a cost, we believe, to their personal and social development."

A college diploma does not certify maturity and well-roundedness, but it should reflect a degree of accomplishment and perseverance.

Again, the three-year approach is not for everyone. But for students who start out with several college credits, a good level of maturity and certainty about their major, this makes absolute sense. One size does not fit all, and neither does the "four-year" degree.