The average price tag of college in the United States per student, per year is $35,720. Scary, right? Tormented by unaffordable tuition and loan debt, students are continually on the lookout for affordable ways to earn a college degree. For some, that quest may have come to an end.
In a bid to make college education affordable, Southern Utah University (SUU) is offering an online Bachelor of General Studies degree that will cost no more than $9,000. At just $75 per credit hour, the SUU program is currently the cheapest college degree offered by a public university in the country.
The program is geared toward those who have joined the workforce and want to earn a degree to advance their career as well as those who were enrolled in college but could not complete their education due to the cost.
Low Cost, Greater Flexibility
“The cost of higher education has outpaced inflation and prohibited some from the opportunity to attend college,” SUU President Scott L Wyatt said. “Our new online Bachelor of General Studies degree is meant to be a disrupter in the higher education model and be more inclusive.”
This is a no-frills program for people who do not fit the traditional college-going mode. The bachelor’s degree in general studies will be made available online this summer.
In addition to its lower cost, the program offers greater flexibility. Classes are offered in separate seven-week sessions, ensuring that students can focus on one subject at a time. Participants in the program will undergo the same kind of learning experience they would in any degree program at SUU. “This degree is inexpensive, but it is not diluted,” SUU provost Jon Anderson said.
Describing the goals of the program, Anderson said, “We’re trying to reach a population we’re currently not reaching, a population that just doesn’t have a lot of funding.”