Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state’s higher education board to develop recommendations for three-year bachelor’s degree pathways, a move aimed at lowering costs for students. The governor instructed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to form a working group including public college officials, faculty leaders, employers, and accreditors to study the issue and report back to his office by the end of the year.
Abbott primarily cited rising costs in his push for the accelerated programs. In a letter to Texas Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser, the governor noted that every additional semester adds to tuition, fees, housing, food, transportation, and other living expenses, which delays students’ ability to begin their careers. “Texas students are our future leaders and the workforce of tomorrow,” Abbott said in the letter.
The governor plans to work with lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session, which starts in January, to “codify an accelerated three-year degree pathway.” The directive requires the working group to make recommendations on academic standards, appropriate degrees and occupations, student demand, workforce needs, accreditation requirements, and necessary legislative changes.
While the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges approved three-year accelerated bachelor’s degrees for the first time in December—specifically for two programs at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia—officials in Texas are now moving to replicate similar structures within the state.
In June, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia announced plans to develop a blueprint for three-year degrees requiring 90 total credits. That initiative involves several private and public colleges in Virginia, as well as Ohio higher education representatives and nonprofit groups. The project is called “Scaling College in 3,” and it includes ten Ohio institutions, including Ohio State University and Cleveland State University.
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Massachusetts’s state higher education board also approved the state’s first three-year programs in June. Merrimack College and Suffolk University each launched programs requiring a little over 90 credits to complete. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers criticized these approvals, warning that the programs threaten academic integrity by substituting a thorough education for a stripped-down curriculum that prioritizes speed over essential intellectual development.
Despite the criticism, advocates exist across the political spectrum. Beth Akers, a senior fellow with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, argued in an op-ed that the traditional 120-credit requirement “persists largely because it was a convenient administrative benchmark” rather than an educational necessity. She noted that “if the goal is preparing students for productive lives, outcomes—not the number of credits—should matter most.”
Other organizations have long criticized the traditional four-year degree model as antiquated. The Progressive Policy Institute argued in 2018 that three-year programs could make college more affordable and accessible. According to a report published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, at least 70 institutions offered three-year degrees or were considering them as of March.
Officials in Texas are now tasked with determining if such accelerated pathways can work within their own public university systems without sacrificing quality. The working group will have to handle complex accreditation requirements and faculty concerns, which have been raised by major education associations regarding the potential impact on curriculum depth.
