I just read an article about more universities considering offering 3-year degree programs to ease students' financial burden. My recent experiences teaching at Utah Valley University and observations, over the past decade, of critical trends in politics & discourse in our country, make me wonder if this is such a good idea. The problem: people don't seem to know how to think anymore. Would shortening time in universities compound this problem? It could - both directly and indirectly. You can point your finger in so many directions for ample evidence. First, there's the media, who flashes headlines and shallow coverage of intricate issues. They claim that the public doesn't have time for nor desire deeper analysis, but is this true? I doubt it, just like Hollywood claims the public wants racier, more violent movies when box office sales prove that tamer fare vastly out-earns the hard-core films. How often do you watch the news? How many stories bore you by the end because they just don't pack in that much information? Deeper, more interesting analysis could easily be fit into the same amount of time and using your brain (once you get used to it) feels good. Audiences - people who obviously want to stay informed because they're watching in the first place - would surely appreciate it. Then there are the political politicians and pundits. They sling mud, turn molehills into mountains, focus on turns of phrases rather than the real issues. They don't listen to their opponents and reason with them, but try to beat them down with a stick. Democracy must be built on intelligent compromise - we'll never all agree on every (and probably "any") issue. Unfortunately, a balanced report doesn't draw the same followership. It's like the war on drugs - you can blame the suppliers (Latin America, for instance), but the demand (the US) is the machine that drives the whole situation. The Civil Rights Movement - while a critically-important shift - taught us some lessons that we now misapply. It taught us that any group that stands together and makes enough noise for enough time will eventually be heard and, if its points are reasonable enough, probably get its way. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Nowadays, however, many special-interest groups (abortion activists, gay marriage, environmentalists, etc.) have thrown all their stock into making noise and not much into making reasonable demands. They (and often their opponents) are completely blind to the opposing viewpoint and claim that anyone who disagrees is uninformed, antiquated, bigoted, or retarded. This is the preferred method of political warfare and unfortunately, it seems to be working. It's about as intelligent as a high school sports rivalry. "My school [of thought] is better than yours" just because it happens to be mine. It's not wrong to prefer what's yours, but going to such extreme stances doesn't work for democracy. If this trend continues, there's no telling how much longer our society will be willing to stand together. Divided we fall. The first defense to the demise of democracy is to become better critical thinkers ourselves. Consider all sides of the important questions at hand. It will sometimes make you uncomfortable, do it anyway. Recognize the logical fallacies in arguments on both sides - if you really believe in your side, you shouldn't be afraid to discard any unreasonable evidence in your favor. Seek reasonable compromise. Now back to the 3-year degree idea. At UVU (recently Utah Valley State College), 4-year degrees are a relatively new phenomenon. As a result, most students over the years have only attended for 2 years. During this time, high school culture prevailed in many ways  (it was often referred to as UVHS). Academic standards either remained somewhat low in many disciplines or many students remained reluctant to put forth the effort to really learn, preferring to just get by with less effort. Critical thinking skills were not fully developed as part of the university culture. Don't get me wrong - UVU has many outstanding faculty and students who would excel in any university on earth. Many are willing to step up at any opportunity. Some of my writing classes eagerly accepted my challenge to write excellent papers - well organized, well thought out, supported, etc. Others resisted for half the semester, perhaps until they realized that if they didn't put more thought into their work, they wouldn't earn the grades they expected. Many students simply quit attending classes for half the semester and still expected to pass - a phenomenon I don't even comprehend. But it turns out the 3-year degree option probably doesn't pose a major threat to our nation's critical thinking skills as it appears that universities considering the option are not so much eliminating education as cramming more into the three years, some requiring summer attendance, etc. Yes, it may have some impact because time in a real university environment where inquiry and thinking are valued can have a real impact on intellectual development, but the students most prone to slack their way through school may be least likely to endure the more demanding 3-year schedule. The topic gave me a chance to vent on all that other stuff, though, so I took it. If I had tons more time and thought it was my job, I'd include a bunch of interesting critical thinking info, but instead I'll settle for just raising the issue and hope you'll notice what's going on and even find something you can do to improve it.