Wesleyan University made a splash in 2012, when its president, Michael Roth, announced that it would provide more support to students who wanted to graduate in three years. The move was part of a broader effort to make the university more affordable — early graduation could reduce the price of a Wesleyan degree by about 20 percent, Mr. Roth wrote when he introduced the option. And smoothing the path to a three-year degree is one way for the university to offer students flexibility and move away from higher ed’s tendency of being “wedded to the convention,” Mr. Roth says.
Before the announcement, a student or two graduated early each year, university officials say. One of those early graduates was Mr. Roth, in 1978.
This spring 15 of the university’s 799 graduates finished in three years. They were the program’s first cohort: Thirteen of them started at Wesleyan the fall after Mr. Roth’s announcement. This seemed like a good moment to check in on the program.
What’s so special about Wesleyan’s three-year degree?
Plenty of colleges allow students to graduate early, but it’s unusual for a college as selective as Wesleyan to advertise the possibility and make it easier for students to pursue.
Why did the university do that?
To let students know that graduating early was possible and — given that Wesleyan’s full cost of attendance is more than $60,000 a year — that it could save them a lot of money. “I just wanted to make the three-year path more visible and more normal,” Mr. Roth says.
How many students did the university predict would sign on?
No one expected the program to be huge. The accelerated timeline is not for everyone — a point Mr. Roth made more than once in his announcement. “As it becomes more visible, people will want to do it,” Mr. Roth says. Even so, “I don’t think a ton of people will want to do it, because they like being here.”
Did the university water down its graduation requirements for the accelerated degree?
The graduation requirements have not been altered. Instead, Wesleyan gave students more options. It began offering summer courses in 2010 and winter ones in 2014. Summer and winter courses are offered at a reduced tuition rate.
What’s in it for the students?
Saving money is the big motivation. The program also lets students customize their path through college, says David Phillips, dean of the Class of 2016, who coordinates the program.
That appealed to Holly Everett, a molecular-biology-and-biochemistry major who graduated this spring. Unlike most of the early graduates, who finished at Wesleyan three years after they started, Ms. Everett took a year off in the middle of her studies. That means she graduated with her original class, but after only three years on the campus. She used the other year to work in a lab doing research that wasn’t available on the campus.
What kinds of students decide to graduate early?
“It’s very hard to predict who will choose this,” Mr. Roth says. The idea was to make it available and let students decide.
Early graduation is easier in majors that don’t require students to take courses sequentially, Mr. Phillips says, and there are a few majors, like studio art, where the option doesn’t really work.
Students who pursue early graduation do tend to be strong academically, Mr. Phillips says, though not drastically more so than their peers. What they have in common, he says, is that they are “really hard-working and organized.”
How do students rack up enough credits in three years?
The program is customizable. Some students enroll at Wesleyan with credits, perhaps from Advanced Placement, but the university caps the number they can bring in that way.
Students can accelerate their path by taking summer or winter classes, and by taking extra courses during the regular year.
Of the 15 students who graduated in three years this spring, 14 arrived with credits from high school. Seven took summer courses at Wesleyan, two took winter ones there, and three took classes at other colleges, according to Mr. Phillips.
And each three-year graduate put the options together a bit differently. Jacob Glickman, for instance, enrolled with Advanced Placement credit, earned summer credits at Rutgers University, and saw the credits he earned from science labs add up.
Tian Qiao also had Advanced Placement credits, and he also took course overloads during the year. Although he studied abroad one summer, Mr. Qiao says, he didn’t transfer those credits because he already had enough.
Do the students who graduate early have time to do anything other than study?
Yes. Mr. Qiao, who is from China, graduated early with two majors and a minor. But he also was chair of the Chinese Cultural Committee and performed with the Chinese Music Ensemble. On top of that, Mr. Qiao worked two jobs, as a resident adviser and for the university’s Instructional Media Services. Mr. Glickman was, among other things, a varsity athlete.
That said, students do make sacrifices to graduate early, Mr. Phillips says. For one thing, he says, they can’t spend a semester abroad and still meet the university’s six-semester residency requirement.
What’s ahead for the three-year degree?
The program is still pretty new, Mr. Roth says, and its small size helps the university keep tabs on students’ experience with it.
If the option became a lot more popular, that wouldn’t be a bad thing, Mr. Roth says. Should it hit a point where Wesleyan has excess capacity on the campus as a result, the university could always take in more students. After all, Wesleyan is turning away many applicants who would like to be there.
Beckie Supiano writes about college affordability, the job market for new graduates, and professional schools, among other things. Follow her on Twitter @becksup, or drop her a line at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
