Rowan offering 3-year degree that saves $22,000

Cost of college getting a little too extreme? Rowan University is offering another option.

The school officially announced Thursday a three-year, year-round degree path for students beginning in the fall of 2016. Ultimately, it saves about $22,000 off the cost of a four-year degree.

The program will be available in multiple majors — but students must live on campus to take part.

“The program is exciting in that it enables our students to have a deeper, richer college experience while saving approximately 25 percent on the overall cost of attaining their bachelor’s degree. It also helps the University better utilize its facilities in the summer and gives Glassboro a much-needed economic boost during that time,” Dr. Ali A. Houshmand, president of Rowan University, said in an announcement from the school “It’s a creative solution to challenges students and higher education institutions are facing across the country today.”

Students will be required to complete at least 40 credits by the end of their first year—fall, spring and summer—and a total of 84 credits by the end of their second summer, according to the school. The rest of the approximately 120 credits needed to graduate can be taken over the next fall, winter and spring sessions, it said.

During the summers, students will attend classes and live on campus free of charge, the school said.

But the program doesn't lower any credit requirements or otherwise make it easier to graduate — it just allows a faster and less expensive path.

“While three-year degree programs are open to everyone, they may not be for everyone,” Dr. James Newell, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said in the announcement. “We are not reducing the number of credits required to attain a bachelor’s degree, but rather we are providing highly motivated, academically prepared students a pathway to take that will reduce their time to complete a degree and save them approximately $22,000, based on this year’s tuition, fees and room rates.”

Rowan will announce the majors available and information on how students may apply on Dec. 1 at its admissions site.