This October, Jimmy Fallon made a comment about fifth-year seniors during his Parents and Family Weekend stand-up routine. One audience member made sure to correct him right away, yelling ‘this is a five-year school!’
However, with President Joseph Aoun’s announcement that the university will be shifting toward four-year degree programs, this may not be the education that students stand up to defend. With two co-ops instead of three and a number of courses taken online, Aoun predicts that the majority of Northeastern students will be graduating on this timetable within the next three years.
Northeastern has received high Princeton Review rankings for career services, job placement and entrepreneurial programs, along with a growing US News and Report ranking. There has been an exponentially increasing number of applicants each year. So once again, I find myself asking this university why they are trying to fix what is not broken.
The five-year, three co-op program has become synonymous with the Northeastern education. To standardize a less demanding program will make those who are willing to take an ‘extra’ year in the minority, even though the five-year program is why many students choose Northeastern in the first place.
In order to graduate in four years, Northeastern will expect students to take online classes during their co-op period. Though this may sound efficient, I cannot help but think that Northeastern is happy that the program is no longer tuition-free while students are on co-op. In fact, I would not doubt that this is a crucial reason for this decision.
Northeastern does not bar students from graduating early or with fewer than three co-ops. Students still go on to medical school or graduate school without problems. These options are there ‘- they always have been. However, still in the midst of an economic recession, I don’t understand why the university would encourage graduating students earlier and with less work experience than before.
Wednesday’s article in The Boston Globe quotes junior health science major Kaitlin Ostrander, who says, ‘For many students, Northeastern is not their last stop on the educational train.’ As true as this may be, for many students ‘- especially students in the large number of vocational programs ‘- this is the last stop. This is where they expected to acquire the education and experience they would need for their future career.
It is no secret that Northeastern has been attracting smarter and more ambitious students. However, it is for this reason that I’m dreading the day when a potential employer asks me why it took me five years to finish at a (now) four-year school.
Though four years and two co-ops may be a viable option for many students, it should not be the standard. If there has to be a standard at all, it should be the most challenging program in which students can enroll.

‘- Taylor Cotter is a sophomore journalism and English major and a member of the Student Government Association.
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