Jul 22, 2026 -
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Virginia higher education leaders are exploring a three-year bachelor's degree, joining a growing national push to shorten college.
Why it matters: Students could enter the workforce a year sooner while potentially saving thousands in tuition and living expenses.
State of play: The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) announced last month that it's working with reps from several Virginia universities to explore 90-credit undergraduate degree programs.
- That would replace the traditional 120-credit, four-year model that's been the standard for most bachelor's degrees for more than a century.
- Virginia reps are working with counterparts in Ohio to develop the program, joining roughly a dozen other states that are offering or exploring a shorter degree option.
Zoom in: 11 of Virginia's 16 public universities and four private colleges have expressed "preliminary interest" so far, SCHEV spokesperson Bob Spieldenner tells Axios, cautioning that "the process is in the early stages" and unlikely to "work for most majors."
- Interested schools include Virginia Tech, VCU, George Mason, ODU, William & Mary, Radford, Longwood, Liberty and Virginia Union, Spieldenner says.
- Most schools tell Axios it's too early to say which majors could qualify.
- Virginia Tech is looking at programs within its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, school spokesperson Mark Owczarski tells Axios.
Meanwhile, VCU is working with business leaders to identify fields that match the state's "workforce development needs," spokesperson Mike Porter tells Axios.
- Those could include business, education and health care degrees, plus humanities and sciences programs, VCU senior vice provost Andrew Arroyo told the Times-Dispatch.
Zoom out: The push for 90-credit, three-year bachelor's degrees began in 2021 with higher ed collective College-in-3 Exchange and has since been adopted by colleges with "astonishing speed," per industry pub The Hechinger Report.
- About 60 colleges nationwide have already developed programs as of this spring.
What they're saying: Supporters say shorter degrees could reduce costs, address declining enrollment and move graduates into high-demand careers more quickly.
- In a December report, SCHEV said Virginia students and families are increasingly questioning higher education's value because of its cost and time commitment, arguing colleges need to better align with workforce demand.
By the numbers: Virginia's average public in-state tuition reached $14,846 for the 2025–26 school year, per SCHEV — $29,538 including room, board and fees.
- Just over half — 56% — of public university students graduate in four years.
- Meanwhile, 35% of high school graduates in 2024 said they planned to pursue a four-year degree, down from 55% in 2019.
Yes, but: Faculty groups say the shorter degrees could come at a cost.
- The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) argue they would weaken a traditional liberal arts education and could limit students' graduate school options.
What's next: Virginia and Ohio officials plan to spend the next year working on a shorter degree model and hope to launch two 90-credit degree programs at participating universities in spring 2028.
