Breaking Orbit: The Future of the Four-Year Degree

Recorded live at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President of Southern New Hampshire University; Richard Vedder, Senior Fellow & Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at the Independent Institute and Ohio University; John Katzman, CEO of Noodle Partners PBC; and Scott Carlson, Senior Writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education. The conversation was moderated by Kate Sutherland, Managing Director at Tyton Partners.The session explored the implications of a major shift in higher education: the recent approval of a 90-credit bachelor’s degree at Johnson and Wales University. Panelists examined what this move away from the traditional 120-credit, four-year structure could mean for the future of postsecondary education. The discussion addressed its potential to reduce time and cost for students, revitalize traditional residential programs, better serve non-traditional adult learners, and challenge long-held norms around credit transfer and competency-based education. The conversation raised an essential question—does this signal a moment of transformative change in higher education, or is it merely a stepping stone toward more radical innovation?

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