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One student says she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in less than six months
The University of Maine’s YourPace program, what some describe as “degree hacking,” or earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at a rapid pace, has prompted an investigation from the institution’s accrediting body.
A leader of the New England Commission of Higher Education told The College Fix that the commission is looking into YourPace after a Washington Post article raised questions about the fast-pace at which some students are earning degrees.
Commission President Lawrence Schall, when asked about the investigation, told The Fix in a recent email that the process is to “write to the school, ask for their response including compliance with all Standards, and this then comes before the Commission at our next meeting, which will be in September.”
The Washington Post article, published in April, reported about one student earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the program in just five months and at a fraction of the cost of traditional higher education institutions. Now, the student said she is coaching others on how to earn their degrees quickly.
The article described it as an example of “degree hacking.”
In response, Schall told the newspaper that he “had never heard of students completing a bachelor’s degree in only a few months,” and said he would look into the program.
The University of Maine’s online program offers eight-week sessions where students learn content themselves and are tested on their level of proficiency throughout the course. Last year’s summer session had more than 1,200 students enrolled, according to a news release at the time.
At the end of each learning module, there is a proficiency assessment, and there is a cumulative test at the end to determine whether the student has passed the class, according to the program website.
The Fix contacted the University of Maine media relations office twice for comment over the past few weeks, asking about program completion length statistics and its steps to ensure competency in coursework. It did not respond.
The university described YourPace as “widely popular” in a 2025 news release about a new public policy option offered through the program.
University of Maine Presque Isle President Ray Rice stated in the release that “YourPace is helping to meet the needs of busy working adults,” offering “an entirely online pathway to affordable degree completion.”
With a flat-rate tuition, unlimited classes, and a “work at your own pace” model, the program allows students to complete a bachelor’s degree in as little as a single eight-week session, according to the Washington Post article.
Taking classes through the program is not the only way a student can earn credit toward their degree. According to the YourPace website, credit hours also can be granted for prior work experience, so long as the student passes a Credit for Prior Learning Assessment.
The program charges students $1,800 per eight-week session for undergraduate courses and about $2,500 per session for graduate classes.
However, the recent media attention to the program has raised concerns among some about whether individuals are really learning the information they need to be, or simply speeding through courses to earn credits and obtain a degree.
Preston Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, believes the YourPace program is “a pretty good way for folks to save money on college costs.” His research work focuses on higher education costs, returns on investment, and student loans.
Even so, he highlighted the importance of competency in a recent phone interview with The Fix.
“I think the critical thing is to just make sure that these assessments are actually measuring real learning, so I would hope that the state of Maine and the university and the accreditor are doing some due diligence to make sure people are actually learning things in these classes,” he said.
Other scholars also commented on the fast-paced degree program, including Professor Jonathan Turley at George Washington University’s law school.
Yet, another professor, Kyle Saunders at Colorado State University, cautioned that “degree speedruns” are not common.
“Out of roughly two million bachelor’s degrees awarded in the US each year, a few thousand get finished in under a year,” the political science professor wrote on his substack recently.
The National Center for Education Statistics “doesn’t even break out sub-year completion rates because the volume has been too small to measure,” Saunders wrote.
He also noted that a number of universities are now exploring or offering three-year degree programs, as opposed to the traditional four. The Fix also has reported on these efforts in Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and at Purdue University.
Saunders did not respond to an email from The Fix recently asking about the online program, as well as his research on “institutional resilience” and how it relates to the YourPace program.
MORE: ‘Higher ed toolbox’: Louisiana expands access to three-year degrees
