INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels commended Ball State University while urging Indiana's colleges and universities to begin offering 3-year bachelor's degrees that he said would give students a way to "fast-forward" their college careers.
Daniels said Monday that 3-year degrees would boost the number of Indiana residents with the college degrees he said are crucial to the state's future work force.
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 and Manchester College — offer an accelerated degree program, and relatively few students take advantage of it.
But cutting out one-fourth of school could save some students up to $25,000.
Samantha Chapman, a 19-year-old Manchester College sophomore who's studying political science, is taking part in the northern Indiana college's accelerated program. This summer, Chapman will work part-time at a Fort Wayne gift shop while taking 12 credit hours of online classes from her home.
"I plan to be an attorney, and this is going to let me get to law school quicker and save a lot of money in the process," she said.
Chapman is one of 27 students signed up for the program, nearly twice the number that signed up two years ago when the plan was introduced.
Students in the program take normal class loads in the fall and spring.
Then, they spend two summers completing preset courses online from home, picking up enough credits to essentially replace the fourth year of school, said Dave McFadden, an executive vice president in charge of Manchester's program.
"About a third of students who apply indicate they have some interest in the program, even if they don't ultimately sign up," he said.
Under Ball State's accelerated degree program, students are more limited in their course offerings and must do summer course work on campus because many classes are not available online.
Despite those challenges, about 25 students sign up for the accelerated program each year, said Tom Taylor, Ball State's vice president for enrollment marketing. He said most of them are looking for nursing, business or criminal justice degrees.
"The numbers are still relatively small, but I think it's going to grow," Taylor said. "It's a different way of thinking. For students anxious to get on with their lives, it's been very effective."
Indiana University does not offer such a program, but the idea is nothing new, said John Applegate, IU's vice president for regional affairs, planning and policy.
"Lots of students have done this. And for the right student, it can be the right course to take," Applegate said.
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