Online classes are shortening the time it takes students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees, some colleges and universities say. Data collected by one of the schools indicates students taking online classes could graduate nearly a year and half before their peers taking only face-to-face courses. Earning a degree faster is what students want, said Barbara Price, associate vice president for academic personnel in the provost's office at Wayne State University . It's not just entering freshmen who want to earn their degrees more quickly, but also students who transfer from nearby community colleges, she said. "Some of them have bounced around among career choices, and all of a sudden, they feel the pressure to graduate and get their degree because they want it on their résumé," Price said.