The shortened course, which reduces the course length from the full semester (Johnson & Rose, 2015), offers a popular higher education format for nontraditional students, especially those at community colleges. The impacts of accelerated learning on both students and faculty have been studied, yet the variety of shortened course lengths makes comparison across studies more challenging. The purpose of this study is to focus on the half semester length for research published from 2010-2024 on undergraduate higher education. The methods used to locate dissertations and articles included searches on Google Scholar and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga library database using key words such as: accelerated courses, community college, and two-year college and backward citation chaining. Findings revealed an emphasis on student success, faculty and student stakeholder perceptions, strategies for andragogy, application for underprepared students, and considerations for decision-makers. The narrowed focus of this study can help continue conversations of institutional efficiency and effectiveness utilizing undergraduate shortened courses.
April B Kidd (Tue,) studied this question.