Reduced‑credit and three‑year bachelor’s degrees are gaining institutional and regulatory momentum as states and accreditors approve pilots and frameworks to shorten degree timelines. The College‑in‑3 Exchange and recent approvals by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and Massachusetts Board of Education illustrate an emerging pathway to deliver career‑aligned credentials faster and at lower cost. Early pilots at private colleges and community colleges focus on workforce fields—cybersecurity, digital marketing, nursing—and rely on course redesign, summer terms and transfer articulation. Proponents argue three‑year degrees can improve affordability and employer alignment; critics raise concerns about curricular compression and transfer pathways.