A Utah university is ‘pioneering’ a new, faster and cheaper bachelor’s degree

In the same amount of time that the original “Star Trek” series was on air and the DeLorean car was manufactured, you can now get a bachelor’s degree in Utah.

Weber State University, just north of Salt Lake City, received the approval needed last week to move forward with an accelerated three-year degree. That means it can start offering the program this fall semester.

The official sanction is a milestone. It marks the first public university in the state to offer a 90-credit bachelor’s program. The specialized path is meant to get interested students in and out of school faster than the traditional 120 credit hours, or four years.

That’s been a major push from Utah lawmakers, who have grown increasingly vocal about the growing costs of higher education. Students, too, have repeatedly asked for faster options.

“We know they’re eager to earn that degree and transition into their careers,” said Weber State President Brad Mortensen in a statement announcing the green light.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities — the accrediting body for the school — signed off the proposed degree. Mortensen serves as one of its 21 commissioners.

The first accelerated offering will be a bachelor’s of applied politics, philosophy and economics. The interdisciplinary degree is designed for students looking for careers in politics, public policy and law, according to the school’s announcement, with a particular focus on positions in state and local government or at nonprofits.

“This is a unique proposal that draws from three disciplines from which government agencies frequently recruit their professional staff,” according to Utah Board of Higher Education documents.

It’s expected to attract 10 students in the first year and build up to 40 in the following years. No additional faculty are needed to teach the program.

An accelerated degree works sort of like a fast pass at an amusement park. Students who sign up are fast-tracked for a specific list of career-focused classes.

They still take the required general education classes that teach important foundations in writing and math that all students must complete. But overall, they take fewer electives in their degree field, Mortensen told the Utah Board of Higher Education last month.

The board gave its unanimous approval for the proposal at that time.

“We need to move quicker and faster,” said board member Steve Neeleman.

Geoff Landward, Utah’s commissioner over public higher education, called the effort “pioneering” to save students money, while still providing a quality learning experience. At Weber State, for instance, one year of tuition and fees is about $7,000.

Weber State is also seeking approval for a second accelerated degree in sound production and recording. It’s centered on students who want to go into audio engineering or work at media studios. That one has not yet received approval from the accrediting body.

The hope would be to launch it in fall 2026. That program will require hiring more staff.

Looking at jobs, salaries

The Utah Board of Higher Education first pushed for public colleges and universities to explore curriculum for possible 90-credit degrees last year.

Weber State’s proposal is the first to come out of that, but state lawmakers have said they’re interested in seeing more efforts like this — to cut costs and save students time.

State leaders this year passed an effort slashing $60.5 million from the budgets of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities. They called on schools to cut “inefficient” degrees from their rosters that lead to lower-paying jobs or few students graduate from.

Each institution can eventually earn their share back if they show that the money will be reinvested in high-wage programs that lead to in-demand Utah jobs, such as nursing, business and engineering.

The schools will present those plans to the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday.

As part of its proposal for accelerated degrees, Weber State had to prove a demand for jobs in the field and their salary rates.

The school’s analysis found “strong demand” in Utah for policy analysts, campaign consultants and paralegals that would be a natural trajectory for the applied politics, philosophy and economics program; there were at least 50 unique job postings with 40 employers in the state over the last month.

The average salary range for those was $70,000, Weber State reported.

For its second proposal in sound production, the university found hundreds of job openings in the state in related fields. The median salaries are in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.

“We have found that there are many jobs in technical support areas for the musical, theatrical, dance, and cinematic arts in Utah (and in other states),” the Utah Board of Higher Education also concluded.

The abbreviated degrees could limit where students can go after graduation, such as to a graduate program. Some universities outside the state don’t accept those credentials. It was one of the risks brought up by the Utah Board of Higher Education in its review.

But Mortensen said more schools are starting to change their stance on that, including several hundred universities and colleges nationwide.

“We’re seeing more and more accelerated programs popping up across the country, because universities like Weber State are taking a hard look at the future of higher education and doing what’s best for students,” he added.

As they become more popular, he said, they also become more accepted.

Other schools and other efforts

Another school, Utah Valley University in Orem, has also moved forward with two options for 90-credit programs.

Those are in emergency services supervision and professional advancement. And it’s considering about 10 other possibilities, UVU President Astrid Tuminez told the Utah Board of Higher Education.

“We’ve been looking at this for a long time,” she said.

UVU is slightly behind Weber State. Its board of trustees recently signed off on the proposal, and it’s been submitted to the accreditor. Tuminez said the idea is to provide “flexible, career-focused pathways.”

One other Utah school has already been offering three-year bachelor’s. That’s the private Ensign College in Salt Lake City that’s owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The school, along with the church’s Brigham Young University-Idaho, got the first approval from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to “pilot” their proposal starting in April 2024. Those degrees are in applied business management; family and human services; software development; applied health; and professional studies.

And more states are joining the list. After Utah passed its policy for schools to study shortened degrees, Indiana followed suit.

There’s also a consortium of schools called the College-in-3 Exchange that’s been looking at how to offer bachelor’s at 90 credit hours.

Mortensen said he’d also like to come up with more options for Weber State, depending on how much interest there is with students.

Already, he said, many come to the university with credit from taking college classes in high school or through prior learning credits, including knowing a foreign language — all looking to complete college faster.