The WaPo writes that some US colleges are thinking of cutting the four year degree program to three in order to save students time and money.

No mention that a relevant tertiary education can be had within two years, even three year degrees are too long and four year degrees are just a waste of time. People change careers at least three times in their life now so education is going to have get shorter and more agile anyway just to meet the education market.

Personally I wouldn't mind that the whole education process is sped up at a lower level so that the HSC becomes the educatory equivalent of an Arts Degree and what we call University now just provides 'two or one year' Masters degree's and ultimately fast paced specialization.

Current tertiary education is more closely matched to industrial era needs. It also suffers from government micro-management, meddling, funding and quotas. One area where the Universities are able to match students needs is post graduate education. Their postgraduate courses are shorter and more diverse. With the global pressures on labour markets it is important Australians earn their tertiary degrees younger, and then specialise as needed. As a result the HSC should be replaced with an Arts Degree specialising in Arts, Science or Mechanical Arts, and the Universities drop bachelors degrees, and instead focus on postgraduate education only. (more)