College isn’t cheap. Families and students pay the direct cost of tuition and fees, and students—because they are sitting in classrooms—forego potential wages that could be earned at work. Taxpayers also subsidize students’ education. While completing a four-year degree still provides a strong long-run return on investment (especially for majors in high-demand fields), hefty upfront costs make college unaffordable for many young people.
To defray those costs, policymakers have long pushed for “accelerated” routes to a bachelor’s degree. They include encouraging AP and IB exams and dual enrollment, so that students arrive on campus with college credit and reduce the time it takes to earn a degree. Some colleges also feature summer programs that allow students to graduate early or “4+1” “or 3+3” models that let students earn an undergraduate and graduate degree together and save time compared to completing those degrees separately.
Now another idea is gaining steam: The three-year (or “reduced-credit”) bachelor’s degree. Unlike other accelerated programs, which still require the traditional 120 credits, this approach simply scales back degree requirements to 90 to 100 credits—in essence, cutting a year of college and its associated costs right up front.
A small handful of U.S. colleges have already put the concept into practice. Private nonprofit institutions such as Johnson & Wales University (RI) and Ensign College (UT) were among the first to offer three-year bachelor’s, and the University of Maine was the earliest public system to launch such an initiative. As of May 2026, a recent RAND Corporation study reports that 119 reduced-credit bachelor’s programs were being offered by colleges located in 26 states. Roughly half are fully online, while the others are either in person or hybrid models. Colleges typically offer a three-year bachelor’s as an alternative to a traditional four-year program and limit the option to students pursuing “applied” majors in fields such as business, IT, and public safety.
No Ohio college has yet to offer a three-year bachelor’s degree. But it probably won’t be long before we see them in our backyard. What do state and institutional leaders need to know about the model? And how can they maintain the quality and value of a college education within a condensed timeline? Published in response to a legislative directive, the aforementioned RAND report offers insights about how Ohio leaders might approach three-year bachelor’s degrees. Here’s the key takeaways:
There is not yet evidence on how students who earn three-year bachelor’s degrees fare in the labor market. The main concern about condensed programs is that they might disadvantage students who must compete against traditional degree earners for jobs, promotions, and graduate school admissions. However, reduced-credit programs are so new that outcomes data are not yet available. In the near-term—until researchers have built an evidence base—policymakers and college leaders will need to rely on common sense, survey data (e.g., employer perceptions), and interim measures (e.g., college persistence) to design programs and gauge success.
College accreditors are open to reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees, but institutions will need to justify their creation. Accreditation is critical for colleges, as it verifies quality, unlocks financial resources, and signals to employers that graduates earn legitimate degrees. According to RAND, most Ohio colleges are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and they would need to win approval from their accreditor (HLC or other) to offer a three-year bachelor’s degree. HLC has already approved such programs in other states, so if the program design is satisfactory, accreditation should not be an insurmountable hurdle for Ohio colleges.
Some majors are better suited to a three-year bachelor’s than others. Based on a feasibility analysis that considers licensure rules and occupational standards, the RAND analysts conclude that colleges can more easily compress undergraduate programs in business, computer systems, public safety, and some healthcare professions into a 90-credit degree. On the other hand, majors such as architecture and engineering are not viable candidates due to stricter occupational licensing requirements. Interestingly, RAND did not examine liberal arts majors (perhaps because they are not easily linked to occupations), but they would seem to be candidates for a three-year bachelor’s.[1] That said, the RAND study does offer evidence that students pursuing graduate studies may want to opt for a traditional four-year program. In a small-scale survey of graduate school administrators, they voice skepticism about reduced-credit degrees (though their opinions may shift as students earn them).
What to cut from the traditional four-year degree matters. The RAND analysts make clear that accreditors still expect all students to complete a university’s full general-education requirements, whether pursuing a three- or four-year degree. Similarly, due to occupational or graduate school expectations, colleges should resist scaling back major course requirements. But elective courses are fair game. Well-designed 3-year bachelor’s degrees remove some frills from an undergraduate education without sacrificing core general education and major requirements.
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With concerns about college affordability mounting, the push for three-year bachelor’s degrees will only accelerate in the coming months and years. Lopping off 30 credits from an undergraduate education could yield significant cost-savings for students and families, but colleges should still prune thoughtfully. As one college administrator noted, “If you want to go to medical school or be a rocket scientist at NASA, you’re going to need a four-year degree.” But for college students with other career ambitions, a three-year bachelor’s degree might be the right fit.
[1] RAND did explore the possibility of a 90-credit bachelor’s degree in education. It is regarded as “feasible” but not easily so in Ohio due to the state’s required reading instruction credits and student teaching requirements.
