Affordability is one of the main goals behind Missouri Western State University’s plan to reduce the number of credit hours required to earn a bachelor’s degree.

The reduction from 124 to 120 will be effective in the fall semester of 2018.

Dr. Paul Orscheln is the associate vice president for enrollment management and student retention at Missouri Western. Orscheln said the driving factor behind the change was trying to close the affordability gap for students.

“We know that in today’s higher education landscape, college can be pretty pricey,” Orscheln said. “Our goal is to make an education here as affordable as possible, also, just being able to help students finish in a timely fashion so that they can start using their degrees to earn a living.”

According to the university, credit requirements within majors or minors will not change. The new minimum reduces the number of elective hours that are needed.

The credit requirement change comes as Missouri Western launches a new program called “Finish in 4” to help more students finish their courses of study on time. Finish in 4 will give qualified first-time freshmen who choose a major or pre-major in their first semester a four-year plan to graduation.

“It goes hand-in-hand with the reduction in credit hours,” Orscheln said. “So students will now be able to take 15 credit hours a semester and, with the Finish in 4 program, what we will do for students is help them monitor their progress in their degree programs, making sure they stay on track all four years, not only from a academic standpoint but from a financial standpoint by making sure the aid is there that they need each semester.”

Incoming freshmen will be able to sign up for Finish in 4 during Griffon Orientation events this summer, or any time prior to the start of their first semester.

Orscheln said Missouri Western’s enrollment outlook for next year continues to look promising with applications for fall 2018 up more than 40 percent over last year and more than double from two years ago.