An option for students to receive a reduced credit hour bachelor’s degree was presented to the Kansas Board of Regents during the May 20 meeting.
This would allow students to finish their certain degrees in as little as 90 credit hours, as opposed to the usual 120. The regents plan to vote on the policy in June, and if passed the six state universities will be able to offer the degrees.
KBOR is the governing body for higher education institutions in Kansas.
“In response to national conversations surrounding degree affordability, workforce alignment and time to completion… These programs are intended to maintain the academic rigor and learning outcomes associated with the traditional bachelor’s degree while creating a more efficient pathway for our students,” KBOR’s Vice President of Student Affairs Jenn Bonds-Raacke said at the meeting.
Some of the regents had concerns about what effects a reduced degree would have on things like retention and employment.
“I would be interested in hearing the view point from employers on this topic because I can see them supporting it because it gets the employees to them quicker, but I would also wonder if they would have any confusion related to what exactly a bachelor’s degree means,” Regent Blake Benson said.
The committee working on the reduced bachelors degree have been developing a short survey to be sent out to over 3,200 businesses and industry partners in Kansas to find out the opinions of employers. The survey will be sent out over the summer and the data is expected to be gathered by the fall.
Transparency with students and employers for what a reduced degree entails is something both the regents and the committee working on the proposal said is important to understand.
University of Kansas’s Chancellor Doug Girod pointed out students that receive these degrees can’t go to graduate school and would lose a year of financial aid eligibility.
“I just want to make sure that we’re very cautious about giving our students access to what is latest and greatest without creating problems for them if they want to go on to graduate school,” Regent Peter Johnston said.
Naming conventions were also a topic of discussion. Currently, the committee recommends KBOR to stay away from using the word “accelerated” when finalizing the name. Regent Kathy Wolfe Moore questioned how employers would distinguish between a reduced degree and a full credit bachelors degree if there was not a different name.
Bonds-Raacke said on the students’ transcripts the credit hours will be available, but the committee wanted to let the regents give their input on how to denote the degree.
If the proposal is passed later this month, there will be a three year pilot period where institutions will implement the program and then assess the effectiveness. Based on those results, KBOR will decide to terminate the program, extend the program for an additional year or grant full approval.
A recording of the May KBOR meeting can be found on KBOR’s YouTube channel.
