To your last statement, are you certain that they truly are " students " as it is most commonly defined?
I think that's a question that could have reasonably been asked for decades.
Years ago I advocated that those who are motivated and capable be allowed to get a bachelor's degree whereas those who are less motivated or less capable could get an associate's degree after 4 years.
I was a teaching assistant in graduate school and the reality was (and likely still is) that there were players on certain teams who never would have stepped foot into a classroom on campus had they not been really good at their sport.
Rather than putting them in a position they likely would not succeed, why not let them take a lighter/easier load (say 6 hours per semester) and finish with an AA that they could then later work towards a BA/BS.