Is four years of college too much? A year less could cut college costs and get kids out of massive debt. Sounds like reason enough to me.Hartwick College, a small liberal-arts school in upstate New York, recently set up a program for students to graduate in three years (six semesters) rather than the traditional four years. The option, while speeding students towards earning their degree, also saves students $43,000 in tuition fees.

So why don’t more schools put kids on the fast track to a bachelor’s degree?
American schools rank as the best in the world according to the 2009 University Rankings, which ranked seven American higher education institutions in the top 10 in the world. However, as American colleges and universities prosper prices rise and students find themselves in catastrophic debt.

Changing the number of semesters required before graduation could solve the problem of student’s debt entirely. Tighten up course requirements and students enter the real world a little less strapped for money.

First-year students spend far too much time studying subjects outside of their chosen field that do not add to their understanding of their major. High school is the place for basic courses, but should a biology major have to take English 101? I don’t think so.

Students could pick some courses outside of their desired field, but they should focus on their majors for the most part. They should take as many courses within their major as possible.

Some might say that students first stepping onto a college campus have no idea what they want to major in. But with fewer years to provide for, and less money to spend on resources, colleges can focus on helping students find their passion more quickly. Instead of hiring more professors, colleges could spend money on counselors or student aids to help students find jobs after they graduate.

Colleges may fight the idea of subtracting a year because of the perceived loss in revenue, but at the same time they can cut down on staff by getting rid of introductory courses.

Forcing students to take too many classes outside of their major is lumbering, uncreative thinking that could cost American colleges the prestige they now enjoy. New ideas come into the field of education every day, but American colleges have been practicing the same methods since the Great Depression.

Take for example the three months of summer we now enjoy. That vacation’s origins stem from an age of agriculture in which we no longer live. Students don’t need three summer months to work in the fields, just like they don’t need four years to study and become well versed in a specified field.

American colleges and universities, while the best in the world, need to wake up and consider the possibilities before them. They could cut costs and save their students hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans if they would just consider a three-year alternative.