Why Colleges Should Offer 3-Year Diplomas

By GEORGE KELLER

Educators need to be more imaginative in finding ways to slow or reduce the alarming rise in the cost of college. Since 1981 higher education has been the fastest-growing component of the Consumer Price Index, and tuition rates at nearly all institutions show few signs of leveling off.

For the 2006-7 academic year, tuition and fees at public institutions rose 6.3 percent, and those at private colleges increased 5.9 percent, both double the inflation rate. The College Board estimates