Hartford Business Journal

22 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 7, 2026 FOCUS | HIGHER EDUCATION Westfield Bank Commercial Lending Member FDIC westfieldbank.com Scott Apuzzo and Penelope Moroso (with Westfield Bank's Jamie Garcia) | Moroso Performance Products When Moroso Performance Products chose a banking partner, they looked for responsiveness, flexibility, and a team that understood their business. Westfield Bank combines substantial lending capacity with true local decision-making to help Connecticut businesses invest, expand, and thrive. Acquiring a business Growing your business Managing cash flow Purchasing equipment Financing an ESOP Supporting private & public contracts Let's grow together. Go to westfieldbank.com/business/commercial-lending or call 860.265.3921. A better lending partner for your business. " I love working with Westfield Bank. They have a smaller bank atmosphere, but big bank capabilities." — Scott Apuzzo, Chief Financial Officer Bloomfield | Enfield | Granby | West Hartford completed a financial analysis of the impact of offering a three-year degree. Two schools, two products Quinnipiac and UHart are taking different approaches to developing reduced-credit programs. Quinnipiac's faculty designed new curricula. The university would reduce general education requirements from its standard 46 credits to 40, the minimum NECHE requires. Faculty members proposed degrees in health sciences, computer science, psychology, criminal justice and early childhood development. Some health sciences programs cannot be reduced below roughly 94 credits without cutting content students need, Roth said. The University of Hartford's computer science department has drafted a 90-credit version of its bach- elor's degree program by trimming general education requirements and electives. Students in the three- and four-year programs would take the same classes, allowing the university to offer the shorter degree without adding courses or faculty. "We are not creating a new curriculum and new courses and new sections," Alnajjar said. "It doesn't work economi- cally and it doesn't work practically." The university is also considering reducing its bachelor's degree in University Studies to 90 credits. The adult degree-completion program includes 29 to 31 elective credits that McGivney said could be eliminated. Neither school is seeking to replace the four-year standard. Most bache- lor's programs would remain at 120 credits, and NECHE limits institutions to five reduced-credit programs. Alnajjar said he expects UHart would implement three or four. Even if the state cleared the way tomorrow, Alnajjar said, the earliest UHart could enroll a class is fall 2027 because the program would still require several layers of internal approval. The law During the last legislative session, state lawmakers debated a bill that would have allowed any accredited college offering at least one tradi- tional 120-credit bachelor's degree to create a 90-credit program with approval from its accreditor. The legislation died without a vote in the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. Committee co-chairs Sen. Derek Slap and Rep. Gregory Haddad said members of their Democratic caucus had "real concerns about redefining a bachelor's degree and reducing the academic standards for a liberal arts education by 25%." However, the 120-credit minimum is established in state regulation, not statute. Noele Kidney, a spokes- person for the Office of Higher Education, said the agency could amend the rule without new legisla- tion, although any change would still require review by the legislature's Regulation Review Committee. There is no formal process for petitioning the office to change its regulations, Kidney said, and staffing constraints have kept the agency from undertaking a broader update. The regulations were adopted in 1986 and last amended in 1999. The Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges supports changing state policy to allow colleges to offer reduced-credit bachelor's degrees. The association pursued legislation this year and plans to try again during the 2027 session, according to President Jennifer Widness. "We are not seeking to redefine the bachelor's degree in Connecticut at this point," Widness said. "We are seeking limited authority for institutions to … pilot a small number of reduced-credit bachelor's degree programs." The entrance to Quinnipiac University's Mount Carmel campus in Hamden. Connecticut lawmakers have considered allowing colleges to offer bachelor's degrees with fewer required credits — a debate that has drawn attention from schools like Quinnipiac. Jennifer Widness Faster Track Continued from page 21 TAKE THE NEXT STEP. The Community donation of Greater New Britain is investing in the next generation of nurses and educators. DR. LORRAINE G. SPRANZO SCHOLARSHIP Graduate Nursing Pursuing a master's or doctoral nursing degree? Opens Sept. 18 | Deadline Nov. 6 ALMA EXLEY SCHOLARSHIP Teacher Preparation For junior, senior and master's-level students enrolled in a Connecticut teacher-preparation program. Opens Aug. 28 | Deadline Oct. 31 READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP? Apply & learn more: cfgnb.org / scholarships Questions? scholarships@cfgnb.org

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