Shorter. Faster. Fitter? - Chris Havergal, Times Higher Education

For Scotland’s universities, the four-year undergraduate degree is the “gold standard” intended to offer a broader and more flexible education compared with three-year courses on offer elsewhere in the UK. This may be so, but there has of late been something of a rush to launch three-year programs north of the border, joined most recently by the University of the Highlands and Islands. Clive Mulholland, the university's principal, said last month that the “accelerated” B.Sc. in geography, which will start in September, will allow students to “embark on their chosen career more quickly and save money in the process.” Is this rise in shorter courses recognition that a four-year degree is simply too time-consuming and too expensive for some students, and does it mean that the gold standard is losing its shine? https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/15/scottish-universities-start-embrace-three-year-undergraduate-degrees