Colleges Consider 3-Year Degrees To Save Undergrads Time, Money
 

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 23, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...052203681.html

In what ways would this affect Greek Life?

Maybe I missed something here, but this is an option already at a lot of colleges, if you're willing to put in work during the summer and overload during the fall and spring semesters.

I'm not sure what type of affect it would have on Greek life, besides the fact that people in those types of programs are probably less likely to rush in the first place.

i have a couple friends doing this. I find its hard enough to finish with just 4 years. I know I'm already going to be going an extra year because of my major. I don't see many people doing this unless they are in a really tight crunch money wise.

Honestly I don't see this happening that much. I know at a lot of schools its hard to get things done in 4 years depending on the major and such. I don't really see schools looking out to save money for their students.

As for the greek life affect I'm with ksigkid.

I agree with KSigkid. If you are bound and determined to earn a 4-year degree in 3 years, you're not going to be able to set aside much time for anything besides your studies. Forget sports, forget a cappella singing, forget leadership in any student organization - and forget pledging.

If three-year degree programs were devised so that you earn something between an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree, I suspect that any woman participating in such a degree program would be ineligible for NPC sorority membership. NPC sorority PNMs must be in the process of pursuing a bachelor's degree. Even if a woman in a 3-year program were deemed eligible, she would be participating in recruitment alongside freshmen who would be active dues-paying members for 4 years rather than 3 - so she'd be going into recruitment with one strike against her from the get-go.

One of the active sisters of my chapter just graduated in three years with a major and a minor. She took on a lot in the chapter, including Social, Greek Week/Pageant Chair, and she served on Panhellenic Council for at least 2 years. Another sister might be graduating a semester early in December. She hasn't decided yet if she wants to take the maximum number of credits this fall, or spread them out over two semesters.

It's definitely possible to fit everything into your schedule. It's more a question of whether or not someone wants to take the maximum number of credits every semester and/or take summer classes, on top of Greek responsibilities.

I do agree, however, that at schools where it's nearly impossible to receive a bid as a sophomore, and sorority chapters are looking for PNMs who can put in 4 years, it might be more difficult for the three-year students to receive bids. Unless of course that information wasn't demanded of the PNMs during recruitment.

I don't understand how a 3-year student/pnm would have a "strike" against her. Its not like shw is matriculating in as a sophomore transfer-she's still a "freshman," and will be a 3rd year senior.

Or is this a money thing-NPCs want 4 years of dues?

Not JUST money (although especially if you have a house, that's important) - since NPC sororities are limited by quota each formal recruitment, they want members who will be able to contribute on EVERY front for as long as possible. Being at or above total makes it much easier on each member - I belonged to a smaller chapter, and it meant that everyone had to do more than would have been necessary if we were larger.

To clarify for the non-NPC brethren - if chapter total is 50, and quota is 10, even if a chapter is at 50 they can pledge quota - so they would be at 60. If every sorority but one is able to be at or above total, the one that is below will not only have to work harder to function, but will be at a disadvantage during recruitment. When pnms walk in the room, and one group is 20 - 30 members smaller, it is hard for them to think beyond "What's wrong with the smaller group?". So the longer you can count on a sister being active, the better for the chapter. HTH.

I don't see how this argument relates to a school being a 3 year college vs 4, especially if this is the case (hypothetically) at a school where everyone would be a 3-year student.

I just think chapters would have to be strategic in choosing their new member class. How many 3-years vs 4-years, just like you wouldn't take a class full of sophomores and juniors, you'd probably want way more froshies.

I'm just saying it shouldn't rule a pnm out. And, that money saved from a 4th year is more money for house-related stuff.

I was addressing why any pnm who wouldn't be there for the usual full 3/4 years would have a strike against her - sorry if I wasn't clear.

Basically, anyone other than a freshman will have less time with the chapter, and thus isn't as attractive as someone who will (hypothetically, at least) be there longer. It isn't something that would necessarily rule a pnm out - it's just something else to consider.

Most Canadian universities still offer three year programs (though when you're admitted, most will assume that you're staying for four). These degrees have fewer required courses (at my alma mater, you had to take the equivalent of 19 or 20 full year courses for a four year degree, but 15 for three years) and many graduate programs won't even consider you if you went through a three year program.

I actually have a number of sisters who have graduated in 3 years. In the coming year alone, we have two girls graduating a year early and at least one graduating a semester early. Two of these three have been or currently are chapter officers, and one of those two is an RA. Yes, it is an enormous time commitment - but it's doable, especially if you come into college with AP credits. I don't know about these three sisters, but for many students I've talked to money is definitely a motivating factor. Our tuition is pretty steep, so working your you-know-what off for a few semesters is definitely worth the money.

Awesome! Let's water down education some more! Shortening classes and cutting credits are great ideas!

You have to remember this is at a smaller school and a smaller Greek system.

Like KSigkid said, I think that by and large people who are trying to get out in 3 years are there for academics period, and less likely to participate in any extracurriculars unless they relate to their major. We had a sister who graduated early, but it was from testing out of her classes, not cramming 4 years' work into 3. (She was a real estate major whose family owned a realty office, ergo she already knew a lot about the subject.)

I would be reluctant to take a person doing this mainly because I'd be afraid they wouldn't have time - not because they would only be there for 3 years.

Good Lord, who in their right mind wants to complete college in 3 years? Even to save save money.

It's like someone inventing a pill to shorten the length of orgasms, and people wanting to take them.

I have a friend who graduated in 3 years and he was a TKE. Because his father had passed away, he was only eligible for Social Security payments if he started college full time before he was 18. Therefore, he had a full course load at the community college during his senior year of high school. With one semester already under his belt, a few extra credits each term and some Spring/Summer courses, he finished in 3 years. I could see this happening more as more students graduate from high school with a semester of college credits already under their belts due to AP courses/exams.

Personally, I think college was the best 4 years of my life and there's no real reason to rush to adulthood :) I don't want my kids taking too long either though, due to finances. 4-4 1/2 years seems reasonable to me.

Just my two cents here...

I just graduated in three years and was a relatively happy, active member of my chapter. I lived in my house for a year and half, took a little, was house RA and music chair, Rho Gamma, sang with my college's traveling choir, wrote for the school paper, produced/reported for the school tv station, worked off campus 5 of 6 semesters... busy as heck, but I made it work.

It was cheaper for sure, but I came in with 27 hours thanks to dual credit, AP classes, and taking classes at a local college my senior year of high school (as in HS in the morning, college in the afternoon).

People can definitely do this and still be active Greeks.

That's not always true! I'm graduating next May, which means I will have been in college for three years, with a GPA of 3.76 so far. I have two non-overlapping majors, and am active in my sorority and an officer in another organization. I also work two jobs. :) It's no problem if someone is dedicated enough for their organization!

Would a 3-year degree fundamentally change your organization's undergraduate programming?

You must have some mad time-management skills! :)

Many of the collegians I work with have very heavy-duty majors or double majors, work or have an internship, and are involved with the sorority and other time commitments. Honestly, they floor me.

I think that students who opted for the three-year track would be very organized with their time, and those who felt that they could handle Greek life on top of everything else would go through recruitment, same as anyone else. They wouldn't have as long a collegiate experience as students on the four-year track, but they would know that going in.

See, I found that last year to be the most important year of my undergraduate career. The first three years were all about learning, topping up the tank. That last year was about growing into an academic in my own right. I was really busy as an undergrad- I worked part time (although I worked the 5am shift to make classes), I was involved in my sorority, I was on councils, I worked for the paper, I had two majors and a minor, honors college, training for a marathon and half-ironman, went abroad, was planning a wedding, planning my move overseas, getting ready for graduate school....and all of that was great for my time management skills. But I felt that at the end of 4 years I had done more than just build a resume, I built myself into a person I was proud of. I look back, and thinking about leaving OC at the end of my junior year (and I could have, if I'd dropped one major)...I would have failed at life. I had just had a revelation about my future career, had a revelation about where I wanted to live, and how I wanted to continue.

I don't know, it definitely works for some people, but I think that rushing through college just to save cash will short some students out of the essential life lessons and growth opportunities gained outside of the classroom. I know that's a bit Pollyanna, and it kills me to hear about students being limited by economic factors.

I wouldn't want to do this, but it seems EASILY doable. I think that any student should be able to finish in 4 years, and a 3 year degree is just regular classes plus both summer semesters. That's not a big deal. I mean, it sucks to take summer classes, sure, but it's not impossible.

To be honest, I'm not sure why so many students take 5+ years to complete 4 year degrees. Obviously some degrees, like education degrees, take more time but the AVERAGE degree is set up to be completed in approximately 4 years.

It depends on the type of school you go to. Many private schools, even though they are more expensive, are set up in a way where you have to pass enough classes in a term in order to stay in school. I know that there was no way for me to have taken longer than four years unless I had taken a semester or year off, or if I had gotten a master's degree. We had no such thing as a "part-time" student, unless you had mitigating health or financial circumstances.

With state schools, however, you can take lighter or heavier loads at your wherewithal. Also, it seems at the smaller schools, you can't always get the classes you need to graduate when you want to take them. 5+ does seem excessive to me, but I think that's based more on my educational experience than anything else.

One of my close relatives took 3 years to get her BA, from a large public university. She took some summer classes abroad, but it was primarily because of AP/IB standing. She still got to do things like pledge a sorority and be active on campus. I had sophomore standing coming into college, but I decided not to take it. To each her own, really.