Saving Higher Education: The Integrated, Competency-Based Three-Year Bachelor's Degree Program

Praise for Saving Higher Education

"At last a book that answers one of higher education's most burning questions: How do we provide America a cheaper, faster undergraduate experience without cheating on the old family recipe and compromising standards? At a time when challenges of college value, quality, and mission are high on the public agenda and an unprecedented number of institutions are exploring three-year degree programs, we are provided a road map that maintains academic integrity by focusing on learning outcomes rather than process inputs. Bravo and about time. This book will add value and inform the thinking of all stakeholders, even the most skeptical of faculty. A three-year baccalaureate aligns the academy with the needs and aspirations of the future. While enhancing effectiveness, it affords students what they want and need while meeting the national agenda for socially and economically productive citizens."—Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president emeritus and University Professor of Public Service, George Washington University

"This book provides a powerful model of how to redesign a university in the interests of student learning. The authors' proposed curriculum model addresses many of the fundamental dysfunctions of higher education—the fragmentation, incoherence, and unfocused activity that produces the dispiriting results of our enormous investment. They offer an evidence-based framework for reshaping our institutions to serve the goals we all wish to achieve while beginning to address the pervasive financial challenges that undermine our efforts. This book provides a vivid and stimulating analysis of how to think about and execute constructive change. Anyone concerned about the future of higher education should read it and learn from it."—John Tagg, professor emeritus, Palomar College, and author, The Learning Paradigm College

"This book offers one thoughtful approach to a high-quality education at a significantly lower cost. If educators respond, students will win." —Margaret L. Drugovich, president, Hartwick College

Martin J. Bradley is a professor of organizational leadership at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). He was the first director of the three-year program and then the dean of the SNHU School of Business, where the program resides administratively, and has taught in the program since its inception.

Robert H. Seidman is a professor of computer information technology at Southern New Hampshire University and executive editor of the Journal of Educational Computing Research. He was a member of the grant team that created the three-year degree program at SNHU and has taught in the program since its inception, as well as being a member of the three-year degree steering committee.

Steven R. Painchaud is a professor of organizational leadership at Southern New Hampshire University. He is a long-standing member of the three-year degree steering committee and has taught in the program since its inception.