JWU Launches First-in-the-Nation Three-Year (90 credit) In-Person Bachelor’s Degree

[portals]

https://www.jwu.edu/news/university-pres...egree.html

[ss20ts]

I feel like there was a recent discussion on here of a college who would be offering a 3 year bachelor's degree.

JWU is basically removing the electives from the degree. Why one would need 30 credits in electives IT or graphic design doesn't make sense to me.

[newdegree]

It seems like a cash grab for me; programs like this are unnecessary.

[DeanLewis]

It seems like a cash grab for me; programs like this are unnecessary.

I don't know that it is so straightforward, lest we forget that most of the developed world (including Canada and the UK) utilize 3 year undergraduate courses of study as standard. In a country riddled with student load debt, soaring tuition costs, and the widespread availability of information in the digital age, it seems appropriate to me. I would like to see more universities move in this direction.

[ss20ts]

It seems like a cash grab for me; programs like this are unnecessary.

I don't know that it is so straightforward, lest we forget that most of the developed world (including Canada and the UK) utilize 3 year undergraduate courses of study as standard. In a country riddled with student load debt, soaring tuition costs, and the widespread availability of information in the digital age, it seems appropriate to me. I would like to see more universities move in this direction.

Given that tuition at JWU is $495 per credit, skipping 30 credits saves students $14,850 plus fees and a year of their life. Seems like a win to me. Hopefully, 3 year bachelor's catch on. Electives are typically filler classes. Many students take whatever is the easiest course, least amount of work, and easiest professor. They're not looking to learn a lot usually. People often complain about the general electives because they don't necessarily help you land a job versus a required course in programming in Python. These new bachelor's degrees are also for in campus students at their Providence campus. Many students live on campus so they're also saving a year in room & board which is thousands of $$$.

[bjcheung77]

Oh yeah, I thought I read about this institution and their 3 year degree offering, there is a thread on the sister board as well... https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?thr...ost-604227

[ifomonay]

They cut too much from the Computer Science program. The 4-year program is already a little sus as it requires only Pre-Calculus. The 3-year program seems to require only Algebra I. Also Discrete Math is required in the 4-yr program but not required in the 3-yr program. I applaud their efforts in looking for ways to cut down costs and moving students through the program more quickly, but to me it seems like they overdid it a little.

[ss20ts]

They cut too much from the Computer Science program. The 4-year program is already a little sus as it requires only Pre-Calculus. The 3-year program seems to require only Algebra I. Also Discrete Math is required in the 4-yr program but not required in the 3-yr program. I applaud their efforts in looking for ways to cut down costs and moving students through the program more quickly, but to me it seems like they overdid it a little.

JWU is an RA university so NECHE approved of the reduction in math courses. Does everyone who works in IT/tech need all of that math? Absolutely not. Do some people? Yes and there are ways they could learn more math on their own.

[FireMedic_Philosopher]

They cut too much from the Computer Science program. The 4-year program is already a little sus as it requires only Pre-Calculus. The 3-year program seems to require only Algebra I. Also Discrete Math is required in the 4-yr program but not required in the 3-yr program. I applaud their efforts in looking for ways to cut down costs and moving students through the program more quickly, but to me it seems like they overdid it a little.

JWU is an RA university so NECHE approved of the reduction in math courses. Does everyone who works in IT/tech need all of that math? Absolutely not. Do some people? Yes and there are ways they could learn more math on their own.

Thank God I was pre-med and not engineering.
The only math I needed in college was to know conversions between imperial and metric and how to convert inches to cup sizes.

[NotJoeBiden]

They cut too much from the Computer Science program. The 4-year program is already a little sus as it requires only Pre-Calculus. The 3-year program seems to require only Algebra I. Also Discrete Math is required in the 4-yr program but not required in the 3-yr program. I applaud their efforts in looking for ways to cut down costs and moving students through the program more quickly, but to me it seems like they overdid it a little.

JWU is an RA university so NECHE approved of the reduction in math courses. Does everyone who works in IT/tech need all of that math? Absolutely not. Do some people? Yes and there are ways they could learn more math on their own.

That’s what IT and technical degrees are for. Computer Science is heavily based around math like calculus, linear algebra, and discrete math mathematics.