PHOTOS: A college degree in three years

Southern Oregon student Bortolazzo, right, attends a class on post-colonial literature. About a dozen, mostly small, U.S. colleges and universities now offer formal routes to earning a degree in three years instead of the usual four or five. And many others, including the University of California, are studying ways to start such an option.
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Bortolazzo searches for books for a research paper at the campus library. She should graduate this year with a degree in English education. Then she plans to go on to graduate school.
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Bortolazzo, in a Southern Oregon group study room, says she has to be “motivated” and “wise” with her time. Some educators worry that academic quality suffers in three-year programs, which usually waive some requirements or push students to take heavy course loads.
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“This is a good way to start the day, with friends,” said Bortolazzo. “We all have such busy schedules, but we try to eat at least one meal together a day.”
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Students make their way to class at Southern Oregon University. For the UC system, a commission is searching for efficiencies in response to state budget cuts and examining fast-track degrees as one option. A proposal unveiled last month involved greater use of summer school and possibly streamlining requirements for some majors.
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