Students at the University of Pittsburgh finish their classes Friday. Rice University's course work wraps up next week. And at Tulane, the last day of classes is April 29.

The calender says it is springtime. But for college students, summer is here.

These early vacation breaks are part of a shortening of the school year at colleges nationwide. Data collected by the National Association of Scholars shows that the length of the average college year has shrunk 35 days since 1964. Yet over the same period, inflation-adjusted college costs have doubled.

The result: Students and their families are paying more for less. In fact, at the nation's elite universities, the combination of higher tuition and condensed class time means an education prices out at about $1,000 a week.

The reason for the abbreviated academic calender is largely economic. Universities discovered they can save money on operating expenses by shortening the school year.

Teachers like it because they have more time for research. Students don't complain because they can earn more in their summer jobs. And the practice of trimming away a class day here, while tracking on another holiday there, is less obvious- and controversial- than other cost-cutting strategies.

So who's hurt? The student earning a depreciated diploma, for starters. 

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