Dive Brief:

• Trident University International — an online, for-profit university — will begin offering eight-week "Fastrac" courses in May for students looking to get their degrees faster.
• The university primarily serves active military personnel, according to Campus Technology, and found 70% of students who responded to a survey said they expected to switch to the eight-week format over the traditional 12-week semester.
• Trident administrators hope the change will increase student completion rates by offering more flexible options to its students, though its doctoral program courses will remain available only in the 12-week format.

Dive Insight:

Campus Technology highlights a 2013 study finding no statistical difference between 16-week semesters and eight-week semesters when it came to student achievement or engagement in online courses. These results indicate promising potential for higher ed institutions trying to offer their students greater flexibility to complete their coursework quicker. This almost certainly will allow these same institutions to offer more courses per year, and in a for-profit model, greater productivity means more money for the bottom line. If Trident finds success with the eight-week model, it would not be surprising to see the shorter option spread quickly across online programs nationwide.