Are Four Years at NSA Necessary?

As the quality of college education continues to deteriorate, it is common to hear complaints that four years is a waste of time and money. Some people suggest alternatives, such as skipping the first two years or doing only two years at a liberal arts college and then earning a technical degree somewhere else. These suggestions make people wonder if four years of college are essential. 

During an interview, Dr. Tim Harmon and Dr. Jared Longshore responded to the question by giving a comprehensive overview of each year at NSA and why the four years are necessary to shape students into leaders.

“It takes four years for the program’s learning objectives to be met, as they are introduced, then reinforced, and finally mastered in a deliberate sequence intended to form students as faithful, free men and women prepared to engage and transform their spheres of influence.” 

Dr. Harmon, Provost at NSA, discussed the vision of the college: graduating leaders who shape culture faithfully under the Lordship of Christ. This goal is not something that a single class or year can accomplish. He expounded, “It takes four years for the program’s learning objectives to be met, as they are introduced, then reinforced, and finally mastered in a deliberate sequence intended to form students as faithful, free men and women prepared to engage and transform their spheres of influence.” 

The program of study at NSA is like building a house. First, the foundation is laid, followed by the walls and support structure. Finally, there is the roof. But you cannot have the completed project if you skip a step. Dr. Harmon noted, “The curricular components that complete this process do not occur until the senior year.” The earlier courses of the program build the foundation and give the primary tools that students need later in the program. For example, students take Rhetoric and Latin in the first year. In later years, they expand these linguistic studies through history, philosophy, literature, and theology. The later years blossom because of the work and toil of the earlier years. 

I asked Dr. Harmon what students gained in the last years of the program. He answered, “The program culminates in capstone courses and a senior thesis that demand proficiency and integration of curricular objectives.” The thesis is the program's pinnacle, where students do in-depth research in preparation for writing a 7,500-10,000 word thesis. They complete this work with the guidance of a thesis advisor. The Senior Thesis allows students to refine their faculties of inquiry, creative expression, and critical reasoning by looking closely at a particular study matter. It also serves as a summative assessment of their undergraduate academic career. Students who have crafted the best theses present their work publicly before a panel of professors.    

Dr. Jared Longshore, Undergraduate Dean at NSA, described the four-year program as designed to go together as one piece. He explained, “The NSA four-year degree in liberal arts and culture is a single unit.” Taking out one part of the structure would weaken the project or cause it to fail. The whole four-year program is the degree.

The work at NSA is rigorous and demanding. There are resources and aids for students who need that help, but NSA does not lower its standards of excellence.

I asked Dr. Longshore if the first two years at NSA are remedial courses like at some colleges. He responded, “No. In these years, students study Rhetoric, Christian worldview, Latin, music, history, and mathematics.” He added, “Cicero, Augustine, and Thucydides are not commonly classified as remedial.”

NSA’s program requires students to be ready to do high-caliber work. If a student is not ready for the freshman class load, then the student is not prepared for college. The work at NSA is rigorous and demanding. There are resources and aids for students who need that help, but NSA does not lower its standards of excellence. 

I asked Dr. Longshore about going to NSA for the first two years and then to another college to complete the degree. He answered, “This route may be fitting for students in unique circumstances. But, this approach leaves students without a deeper analysis of literature, theology, western culture, and philosophy.” The advanced courses in the last two years are critical to the program. In doing only the first two years at NSA, students will miss the more advanced philosophy, theology, and literature studies in the program's third and fourth years. These upper-level courses force students to wrestle with complex philosophy and theology that sharpen the student in thinking carefully about the key ideas that have built our culture.

NSA has crafted a liberal arts program that interlocks to create a single course of study. This design makes the program strong. There is no way to take just one part and get the whole thing. Every step is necessary. There are no extraneous classes at NSA. If a class is deemed unnecessary, it becomes a waste of both time and money. However, the program offered by the NSA is highly valuable in that each course is specifically designed to equip students with the skills they need to become leaders who can shape culture in accordance with their faith in Jesus Christ.