One possible way to lower the cost of higher education
is to create degree programs that take less time to complete than the
traditional four years. The University of Colorado, Boulder, has launched a
grant program to get the effort started.
The CU system is asking faculty and staff to compete
for three grants of $200,000 to develop fully online degree programs that can
be completed in three calendar years. The university hopes to announce the
grant recipients by the end of September and have the program running by 2018.
The program must be delivered by faculty from at least
two of the CU campuses. The degree must also be in high demand and marketable
since a key factor for the entries will be the number of new students they bring
to the university.
“We’re counting on the innovation of our faculty and
staff to be able to develop three-year, fully online programs that are going to
meet the needs of students in high-demand areas in Colorado and beyond,” Ken
McConnellogue, spokesman for the CU system, said in a report in eCampus News.
