Over 40% of first-year students already start as sophomores at UW-Madison
The University of Wisconsin System this month opened the door for its campuses to begin offering faster, cheaper three-year degrees, even as more first-year students are entering with sophomore status.
The proposal was met with a cool reception from at least one UW-Madison official, but students bringing college credits earned during high school are cutting the average time to a degree at the system’s flagship campus even before any policy changes take hold.
Of the 8,495 first-year students starting at UW-Madison last fall, 3,576, or 42 percent, counted as sophomores, coming in with a year’s worth of credits or more, UW-Madison Director of Public Affairs Gillian Drummond told Badger Institute.
It’s the main reason that the school has far more sophomores than freshmen, said Drummond.
In a newly authorized policy revision, the system’s Board of Regents approved language which would allow schools to offer a bachelor’s degree at 90 credits, rather than the standard 120 credits. The revision document notes the change was due in part to “growing interest among higher education stakeholders.”
At a typical pace of 12 to 18 credits per semester, this change would effectively allow students to graduate in as few as three years, rather than the typical four. In its analysis of the plan, the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) said the change will give economic benefits beyond savings on the cost of a college education.
“Three-year degrees can save Wisconsin families $18,000 to $29,000 in direct costs (one year of tuition, room, and board) plus an additional year of post-graduation earnings,” CROWE wrote. “These savings will reduce pressure on General Purpose Revenue (GPR) and state need-based aid while moving graduates into the workforce—and onto the tax rolls—sooner.”
Milwaukee leads the way
UW-Milwaukee already is taking part in the College-In-3 Exchange, a “collective of U.S. campuses hosting conversations to design undergraduate degree options that increase student success while decreasing student costs.” That group’s website advocates for three-year degrees as a cost-effective option.
“For too long, the four-year bachelor’s degree has been treated as the only pathway,” the group’s site reads, saying interest in shorter degrees is “gathering momentum.” It counts more than 60 institutions as members.
A UWM spokesman told Badger Institute that UWM does not yet offer a three-year degree but that it’s looking into potential offerings.
“UWM is aware of national conversations around reduced‑credit degrees and is exploring whether this approach may be an option for certain programs,” said the school’s statement. “We are in the early stages of identifying which programs could be candidates.” If the school does offer such an option, “it would take time to develop.”
Beyond the UW System
Mount Mary University, a Catholic all-women’s college in Milwaukee, is also a member of the College-In-3 Exchange. It offers several degrees that require 95 credits, advertising that most students can finish them in three years.
The shorter degrees are in digital marketing, cybersecurity and social work.
“Students take the same required courses in their major and the core (general education), regardless of their degree type,” the school writes. “Instead of needing to take additional electives or courses in a minor to meet the 120 credit minimum requirement for a traditional bachelor’s degree, reduced-credit degree students complete only their major requirements and core requirements.”
What about Madison?
A shortened bachelor’s degree may be a hard sell at the UW System’s flagship Madison campus. The school’s interim provost, John Zumbrunnen, said during a campus meeting the school is not currently weighing a 90-credit degree offering, despite the system’s recent decision.
“I do not see (UW-Madison) any time soon turning towards the widespread presence of reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees,” he said.
“We traditionally have a four-year undergraduate experience,” he said, “and that is surely partly about student development, broadly speaking, not just about a certain set of learning outcomes.”
Yet many UW-Madison students already complete their bachelor’s degree in under four years.
At UW-Madison, “Average time-to-degree has fallen to a record low of 3.78 years in 2024–25, down from 3.96 years in 2018-19,” according to the CROWE report. “This means that many UW-Madison students are already effectively completing their degrees in under four years.”
And it’s not just in Madison: Noting the proliferation of first-year sophomores in its report, CROWE said the first-year sophomore is common across the UW System.
“Many Wisconsin students already arrive with substantial credits,” it wrote, since 78,703 high school students took part in high school-and-college dual enrollment classes in 2023–24, and 25.2 percent of graduating high school seniors scored 3 or higher on an advanced placement exam, meaning the class counts for college credit.
Current UW-Madison student Josie Sagan, 21, will complete her bachelor of pharmaceutical sciences degree this spring after three years at the school. She’s progressing toward a doctor of pharmacy degree.
Sagan told Badger Institute this was possible thanks to having completed a significant amount of college-level work in high school.
“I came in with a bunch of credits, and I was able to take summer classes and fast-track into the (pharmacy) program, but I ended up having enough credits to graduate early this year,” she said.
Sagan added she believes that even students who do not have this credit advantage could comfortably complete a bachelor’s degree within three years. “I think Madison gives so many opportunities for transfer credits and they have a lot of summer classes, even online, so I feel like if you really put your mind to it, anyone could probably graduate in three years,” she said.
Jackson Walker is a native Wisconsinite and 2023 UW-Madison graduate.
Any use or reproduction of Badger Institute articles or photographs requires prior written permission. To request permission to post articles on a website or print copies for distribution, contact Badger Institute Marketing Director Matt Erdman at matt@badgerinstitute.org.
Submit a comment
Go to the full page to view and submit the form.
