WaPo Article Questions Rapid Degree Completion ('Degree Hacking’)

[swlearner71]

Programs like UMPI and WGU seem to be getting more attention, not all of it positive. The implication that these degrees are inherently less rigorous and deserve a different designation than traditional ones strikes me as outdated and not well-informed. I've done both traditional and CBE programs. In my experience with both, what you put in is what you get out of it. I saw many people coast through the traditional programs without much effort or consequence, so it is not as if those types of programs are without issues.

What do you guys think?



Some interesting quotes:

"'We want diplomas that mean something,' said Marjorie Hass, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, which represents more than 600 liberal arts colleges and universities. 'I would prefer to have some of these degrees called something other than a bachelor’s.'"


"The head of the New England Commission of Higher Education, which oversees the accreditation of the University of Maine system, told The Washington Post that he had never heard of students completing a bachelor’s degree in only a few months — either at the Presque Isle campus or any other accredited university. He said that is something his organization may decide to investigate. 'If students are getting a baccalaureate degree in a few months, the commission could certainly inquire, ‘Is there integrity to the degree to be awarded?’ said Larry Schall, president of the commission. (Shortly after Schall got off the phone with The Post, he said, he called the campus to ask them to look into the issue.)."




https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersa...r-AA21eMNI

[ss20ts]

Same problem we've had on here for years. People brag about their speedy runs on social media and it ruins it for others. I don't wonder why UMPI makes numerous changes to their degrees every year. PUG has also made changes. WGU makes changes as well. TESU, COSC, and EU have all made changes. Most likely many of these changes come from people bragging about completing 452 classes in 18 hours. Because yeah they're going to have to justify that to the accrediting bodies. The number of people who are charging for degrees plans that are available for free on here is sad to see especially when they're people I helped for free on here.

[panda02]

The influencer ruins everything. If you earn your degree ahead of time, that’s admirable; now go do something meaningful or step into your career. Yet instead, they start flaunting it online, charging others, and showing off on TikTok and YouTube.

I cringe every time i see them charging for consultancy service. Now, the accreditation agency will start a crack down, and it will be ruined for everyone.

[wow]

Has anyone completed a UMPI degree in four months without transferring in a ton of credits, though? I would hope the fact that these are all technically transfer students who finish fast, plus the rarity of people speedrunning, would be enough to appease the accreditors.

"Of the nearly 300 students who earned a bachelor’s in the YourPace program in fall 2024, the vast majority finished in less than a year. More than 1 in 4 finished their entire degree course load in a single eight-week session, half the length of a traditional academic semester."

This obviously includes people with transfer credit. This is shoddy journalism. No wonder, given how much of WaPo's staff has been laid off recently. No room for fact-checking or decent editorial oversight anymore.

"The nonprofit school’s website says that students finish their bachelor’s degrees in an average of 2.5 years, but that many “finish significantly faster than that!”"

Congrats, reporter! You just learned what "average" means!

[NotJoeBiden]

Has anyone completed a UMPI degree in four months without transferring in a ton of credits, though? I would hope the fact that these are all technically transfer students who finish fast, plus the rarity of people speedrunning, would be enough to appease the accreditors.

"Of the nearly 300 students who earned a bachelor’s in the YourPace program in fall 2024, the vast majority finished in less than a year. More than 1 in 4 finished their entire degree course load in a single eight-week session, half the length of a traditional academic semester."

This obviously includes people with transfer credit. This is shoddy journalism. No wonder, given how much of WaPo's staff has been laid off recently. No room for fact-checking or decent editorial oversight anymore.

"The nonprofit school’s website says that students finish their bachelor’s degrees in an average of 2.5 years, but that many “finish significantly faster than that!”"

Congrats, reporter! You just learned what "average" means!

I would argue the good journalists left a years ago. Bezos has been purging the journalistic integrity of the company to fit his own political agenda for years.

[ss20ts]

The influencer ruins everything. If you earn your degree ahead of time, that’s admirable; now go do something meaningful or step into your career. Yet instead, they start flaunting it online, charging others, and showing off on TikTok and YouTube.

I cringe every time i see them charging for consultancy service. Now, the accreditation agency will start a crack down, and it will be ruined for everyone.

100%

UMPI is now going to be reviewed by NECHE. I expect big changes because of this. I don't think this is going to go away in a week like some on Discord have said.

[SteveFoerster]

The influencer ruins everything. If you earn your degree ahead of time, that’s admirable; now go do something meaningful or step into your career. Yet instead, they start flaunting it online, charging others, and showing off on TikTok and YouTube.

I cringe every time i see them charging for consultancy service. Now, the accreditation agency will start a crack down, and it will be ruined for everyone.

100%

UMPI is now going to be reviewed by NECHE. I expect big changes because of this. I don't think this is going to go away in a week like some on Discord have said.

Is that insider knowledge on your part, or speculation? Because I'd be a bit surprised if NECHE lets their processes be driven by a newspaper article.

[RbxFunRocks]

The influencer ruins everything. If you earn your degree ahead of time, that’s admirable; now go do something meaningful or step into your career. Yet instead, they start flaunting it online, charging others, and showing off on TikTok and YouTube.

I cringe every time i see them charging for consultancy service. Now, the accreditation agency will start a crack down, and it will be ruined for everyone.

100%

UMPI is now going to be reviewed by NECHE. I expect big changes because of this. I don't think this is going to go away in a week like some on Discord have said.

Is that insider knowledge on your part, or speculation? Because I'd be a bit surprised if NECHE lets their processes be driven by a newspaper article.

Not sure it's so much the newspaper article itself as much as it is the growing public pressure against degree hacking.

Some people have an idea in their head of what college education ought to look like. 

---

Students at extremely hackable universities like UMPI and WGU often choose those schools specifically because of their lax transfer + alternative credit policies. Not to mention, few restrictions on how many courses you can take. Of course their average time to a degree will be low, but simply because these schools attract a certain type of student. 

WGU and UMPI simply have the edge for students who want to (1) finally earn a degree over with using credits they've accumulated, (2) submit twice as much work as a B&M university every week to shorten their completion time, (3) spend every waking hour working on coursework without being stopped, and/or (4) strategically plan out which courses to transfer in. Prospective students who don't care about these things simply won't go out of their way to find WGU or UMPI. 

If you submit assignments at a normal pace compared to an asynchronous online course at an "in-person" B&M degree, your completion time will generally be comparable. Such schools aren't diploma mills, but rather legitimate institutions that naturally filter out students who aren't proactive with their education (unlike most B&M schools).

[SteveFoerster]

Not sure it's so much the newspaper article itself as much as it is the growing public pressure against degree hacking.

Some people have an idea in their head of what college education ought to look like. 

I'm not sure about public pressure, exactly, when the vast majority of the public would never even heard of this. I take your point, though, that those who are familiar with higher education, if they hear about how short it can take well prepared people to get through it, might give side eye at people who didn't have to get hazed like they did.

Students at extremely hackable universities like UMPI and WGU often choose those schools specifically because of their lax transfer + alternative credit policies. Not to mention, few restrictions on how many courses you can take. Of course their average time to a degree will be low, but simply because these schools attract a certain type of student. 

I know it's a quibble, but I'd refer to these policies as liberal rather than lax, since the latter wrongly implies illegitimacy.

WGU and UMPI simply have the edge for students who want to (1) finally earn a degree over with using credits they've accumulated, (2) submit twice as much work as a B&M university every week to shorten their completion time, (3) spend every waking hour working on coursework without being stopped, and/or (4) strategically plan out which courses to transfer in. Prospective students who don't care about these things simply won't go out of their way to find WGU or UMPI. 

If you submit assignments at a normal pace compared to an asynchronous online course at an "in-person" B&M degree, your completion time will generally be comparable. Such schools aren't diploma mills, but rather legitimate institutions that naturally filter out students who aren't proactive with their education (unlike most B&M schools).

Very well said!

[vetvso]

My opinion only: Most schools don't want students to get through the degree process quickly. They make a lot of money from students taking a lot of time and wasting time forever on party activities. The costs of college degrees keep going up, and I would suspect the schools are the ones making noise behind the scenes. They look at this as a threat and want it stopped.