Entry #5 - The Tortoise and the Hare

As the spring semester kicks off this January, Arizona State University, a school of more than 80,000 students, will start to add the option of shorter, more accelerated courses. These courses will be taken over a span of 7 and a half weeks, down from the traditional 15-week course.

This will give students the opportunity to acquire their degrees at a much faster rate. "If a student wants to be very efficient, they can finish in three years,"says ASU Provost Betty Capaldi. 

At this day and age, I think it is a great idea to start implementing. With society always growing and expanding each day, I feel like the added option is just another pathway to success. Everyone is different. Some learn faster than others and some simply need more time to in order to fully understand different concepts. I'm always looking for ways to get ahead, especially with school. Speak of the (sun)devil, I just remembered that I forgot to pay my summer school enrollment!!! 

The school has already had similar curriculums in play-

ASU Online, a program in which students can earn their degree without stepping foot on campus, also spans over a 7 and a half week course. The program has become increasingly popular and profitable and has proven to be a solid means of acquiring education.

The universities' School of Letters and Sciences also offers a similar, 8-week course, in order to help students finish their studies faster. These courses are also very popular and are the first to fill up, says ASU professor and director Fred Corey.

As seen above, ASU is rated #1 this year for innovation among other U.S. schools. I'm sure this change won't hurt anybody, except maybe for some faculty. If students have a problem with it, they still have the option of attending 15-week courses. But if all courses were shortened, that might be a different story!

The shortened courses definitely offer a lot of flexibility to students amidst their busy lives. So which one are you?