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LA Times: Professor floats idea of three-year B.A. to cut college costs

  • December 10, 2014
  • The Progressive Policy Institute

A report by PPI Senior Fellow Paul Weinstein, Give Our Kids a Break: How Three-Year Degrees Can Cut the Cost of College, is the subject of an LA Times article today.

In his paper, Weinstein found that a four-year degree at a public school costs, on average, $35,572 in 2013. A three-year degree at a similar institution would cost $26,679 — a 25% savings.

Weinstein’s idea isn’t original. Some campuses, including Bates College in Maine and Wesleyan University in Connecticut, have instituted similar programs, but widespread implementation is rare, Weinstein said. In the last five years, 22 private, nonprofit colleges have begun offering three-year degrees, according to the National Assn. of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Read the article in its entirety at LA Times.

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