With colleges and universities under pressure from the government, students, and parents to make higher education more efficient and cost-effective, there is a pressing need for institutions to adopt a three-year bachelor’s degree program.
Based on Southern New Hampshire University’s highly successful integrated, competency-based three-year bachelor’s degree programthe longest running in the countrySaving Higher Education provides administrators a blueprint for creating, sustaining, and growing such a program at higher education institutions of all types and sizes. The book compares compressed and accelerated three-year degree programs with its integrated program to reveal how the model cuts student costs by 25 percent and significantly reduces program delivery costs to colleges and universities, saving schools and their students time, money, and resources without sacrificing learning.
The 120-credit six-semester competency-based integrated curriculum approach focuses on student learning as opposed to “seat-time,” and research shows above average academic student success. The book also addresses retention and graduation rates, student experiences, employer reactions, accreditation reviews, and achievement on standardized tests.
The authors answer university leaders’ frequently asked questions and debunk commonly held myths about three-year degree programs. They include handy forms that can be used for curriculum design, academic planning, and data collection.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Saving Higher Education
“At last a book that answers one of higher education’s most burning questions: How do we provide America a cheaper, faster undergraduate experience without cheating on the old family recipe and compromising standards? At a time when challenges of college value, quality, and mission are high on the public agenda and an unprecedented number of institutions are exploring three-year degree programs, we are provided a road map that maintains academic integrity by focusing on learning outcomes rather than process inputs. Bravo and about time. This book will add value and inform the thinking of all stakeholders, even the most skeptical of faculty. A three-year baccalaureate aligns the academy with the needs and aspirations of the future. While enhancing effectiveness, it affords students what they want and need while meeting the national agenda for socially and economically productive citizens.”?Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president emeritus and University Professor of Public Service, George Washington University
“This book provides a powerful model of how to redesign a university in the interests of student learning. The authors’ proposed curriculum model addresses many of the fundamental dysfunctions of higher education?the fragmentation, incoherence, and unfocused activity that produces the dispiriting results of our enormous investment. They offer an evidence-based framework for reshaping our institutions to serve the goals we all wish to achieve while beginning to address the pervasive financial challenges that undermine our efforts. This book provides a vivid and stimulating analysis of how to think about and execute constructive change. Anyone concerned about the future of higher education should read it and learn from it.”?John Tagg, professor emeritus, Palomar College, and author, The Learning Paradigm College
“This book offers one thoughtful approach to a high-quality education at a significantly lower cost. If educators respond, students will win.” ?Margaret L. Drugovich, president, Hartwick College
About the Author
Martin J. Bradley is a professor of organizational leadership at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). He was the first director of the three-year program and then the dean of the SNHU School of Business, where the program resides administratively, and has taught in the program since its inception. Robert H. Seidman is a professor of computer information technology at Southern New Hampshire University and executive editor of the Journal of Educational Computing Research. He was a member of the grant team that created the three-year degree program at SNHU and has taught in the program since its inception, as well as being a member of the three-year degree steering committee. Steven R. Painchaud is a professor of organizational leadership at Southern New Hampshire University. He is a long-standing member of the three-year degree steering committee and has taught in the program since its inception.
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