By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
For generations, earning a bachelor’s degree has typically meant spending four years in college and completing 120 credit hours or more.
Fort Hays State University is preparing to explore whether every student still needs all 120 hours.
FHSU could begin offering reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees as early as fall 2027, potentially allowing some students to complete college with fewer credits, spend less on their education and enter the workforce sooner.
The idea, however, comes with a larger question: What happens after the three-year degree?
Jill Arensdorf, Fort Hays State University provost and vice president for academic affairs, said reduced-credit degrees could provide another option for students, but they are not intended to replace traditional bachelor’s degrees.
“I think there’s value in them for some students in some specific areas,” Arensdorf said. “It shouldn’t replace all of our baccalaureate degrees.”
Kansas opens the door
The Kansas Board of Regents voted June 17 to establish a three-academic-year pilot allowing institutions to propose what the state is calling Reduced Credit Baccalaureate Degrees.
Under the new framework, universities cannot simply remove courses from a traditional bachelor’s degree and begin offering a shorter version.
Institutions must demonstrate academic quality and clearly defined student learning outcomes, along with evidence that a workforce demand exists for the proposed degree. Programs must also comply with accreditation standards and federal financial aid regulations.
For FHSU, the policy opens the door to begin proposing programs, but none have been approved or offered at the university yet.
“We have to make sure that we’re in alignment with the new Kansas Board of Regents policies and framework on this,” Arensdorf said, “as well as get approval from our accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission or HLC.”
FHSU programs are expected to begin submitting proposals this fall. Those proposals must first move through the university’s own approval process before continuing through the Board of Regents and accreditation review.
Arensdorf said spring 2027 would be an ideal starting point, but the length of the approval process makes that unlikely.
“I would say by next fall would be our earliest that we would offer something that has been approved by all of the necessary bodies,” she said.
FHSU is not yet identifying which programs could be among the first proposed. Arensdorf said university officials have identified some areas with specific workforce demand but do not want to get ahead of the approval process.
Fewer credits, same learning?
Removing roughly a year’s worth of credits from a traditional bachelor’s degree raises an obvious question: Would students earning fewer credits receive the same education?
Arensdorf said credit hours alone are not how universities determine whether students have mastered their field.
“Degree programs are based on program learning outcomes,” she said, “not on credit hours.”
Programs establish learning outcomes identifying what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate. FHSU would have to demonstrate students in a reduced-credit program could still achieve those outcomes.
“What we’re measuring is not, did the student just get the credits, but did they meet the learning outcomes?” Arensdorf said. “We will be measuring: Do the students meet the learning outcomes in the number of credits that they’re earning?”
One place FHSU will not look to reduce those credits is general education.
“One thing that is off the table is cutting general education out,” Arensdorf said. “All programs, regardless of how many credits they end up being within that framework, have to still maintain the general education.”
Instead, Arensdorf said programs could examine electives or other requirements that may not be necessary to meet the learning outcomes and workforce demands of a particular degree.
The process cannot simply be an effort to make college shorter.
“It’s not just, let’s just shave a few credit hours off,” Arensdorf said.
What happens after graduation?
For students, one of the clearest potential benefits of earning a degree with fewer credits is financial.
Fewer required courses could mean paying less in tuition.
Arensdorf said FHSU would not increase tuition rates for students pursuing reduced-credit degrees.
“Fewer credits would mean less financial burden for a student,” she said.
Financial aid presents another consideration. The Regents' policy requires programs to comply with federal financial aid regulations, and Arensdorf said FHSU will have to ensure aid aligns with any reduced-credit programs it eventually offers.
Saving time and money, however, is only one side of the equation.
A student could enter college at 18 focused on earning a degree and beginning a career as quickly and affordably as possible. Several years later, that same graduate could decide to return to school for a master’s degree.
Whether every graduate program would accept a reduced-credit bachelor’s degree is another question.
“We have to make sure we’re communicating with students that they understand what the implications are if they want to go on for a master’s degree, and whether or not a master’s degree program would accept the reduced credit baccalaureate degree,” Arensdorf said.
Acceptance in the workforce presents another question.
Under the Regents' framework, universities proposing a reduced-credit degree must provide evidence of workforce demand, including employer support where appropriate, or demonstrate that graduates could be admitted into graduate programs.
FHSU will therefore have to consider where credits can be removed. University officials must determine whether students can achieve the necessary learning outcomes and whether the degree will continue serving them after they leave Fort Hays State.
“There’s lots of nuance, and so we’re being really thoughtful,” Arensdorf said. “We should be thoughtful as we think about what meets workforce needs, but also our student needs as well.”
Being cautious
The three-year pilot gives Kansas universities an opportunity to test reduced-credit degrees, but Arensdorf said FHSU does not intend to rush into offering them across campus.
“There aren’t any that are completely off the table, but we’re going to be really strategic and thoughtful about how we go about rolling these out,” she said.
FHSU could initially seek approval for only a few programs, giving the university an opportunity to see how students, employers and other institutions respond before considering a larger expansion.
“The last thing we want to do is go too fast and then have to roll back in three years what we’ve done,” Arensdorf said.