Innovative Methods Revolutionizing College Tuition

Imagine a world in which a college education was affordable. Now, take it a step further and imagine a world in which a college education was free.

Though it might seem far-fetched, especially to the more than 37 million Americans who are currently in debt due to student loans, recent initiatives and innovative techniques by higher education institutions stand to change the face of college tuition.

The Old School

Traditionally, basic tuition cuts or freezes have been the method institutions would use to curb students’ financial burdens. From national online education provider University of Phoenix to more traditional state school systems like California State University — both announcing proposed tuition freezes — to private schools cutting tuition price tags, these practices aren’t new.

However, lowering tuition costs means less financial aid as well. For many schools, the strategy behind this method is that the publicity will help generate an increase in enrollment, which will offset the tuition cuts.

Innovators Changing the Playing Field

One social venture that is leading the way in tuition reform is University Now (UNow). Based in San Francisco, Calif., UNow was designed to provide students everywhere with an affordable college education through a network of schools.

UNow is the parent company of two accredited schools, Patten University and New Charter University.

Students who are eligible can earn their degrees online from Patten or New Charter through UNow’s College Works Scholarship Program.

Currently, the program is available to students who live or work in San Francisco, Oakland, or Sacramento and qualify for tuition assistance benefits with their respective employers. Through this program, students can essentially pursue a higher education for free.

The scholarship program was created to offer working adults an affordable option for earning a college degree — something that reports have shown to be quite handy post-Recession.

Here’s how the scholarship works: An eligible student will enroll in Patten or New Charter and pay applicable tuition costs out of pocket. The student’s employer will then reimburse him or her.

However, the student will not be charged tuition at a cost higher than what the employer agrees to reimburse him or her, meaning UNow will cap tuition at the amount of the student’s respective tuition reimbursement program from his or her employer.

The scholarship will then be applied to cover all remaining costs. There is no cost to the employer to participate in the scholarship program.

Working Together with Open Courseware

San Jose State University has jumped out as a leader in transforming tuition, recently partnering with open courseware provider Udacity to pilot a program called San Jose State Plus.

This program allows students — both SJSU and non-SJSU — to take three courses for college credit at $150 per course. Students can choose to take the courses for free, but would earn no college credit.

The courses offered are intermediate algebra, college algebra, and elementary statistics and will be offered in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) format. All coursework will be done online and exams will be proctored.

SJSU Plus is part of a bigger initiative led by SJSU president Mohammad Qayoumi, who has expressed that colleges and universities need to approach teaching and learning assessment using methods that are personalized, collaborative, engaging and relate to current real-world problems.

“The idea is to broaden access to college education,” Patricia Harris, media relations director for SJSU said. “In theory, we will build SJSU Plus over time. But that’s still far in the future. Right now, we’re focusing on assessing the three courses we’re offering.”

With the American Council on Education recently endorsing five more MOOCS for credit — all offered through Coursera — from influential schools like Duke University, The University of California, Irvine, and The University of Pennsylvania, the opportunity for an affordable education may be on the horizon.

If more schools follow suit, students will be able to earn credit for mastery of courses that do not require paying tuition, which could be a complete game-changer in the future of tuition pricing.

Different Degree, Different Price?

The method of differential tuition — offering varying tuitions based on major, program, college or class standing — is another way to address the tuition issue. For example, schools may offer high-cost courses for majors in the field of engineering and health sciences, which tend to have more favorable job outcomes for graduates. Statistics show an increasing number of colleges and universities have begun offering differential tuition.

Ohio University is an institution seriously considering this method as an alternative way of charging tuition. In a November article of the Athens Messenger, Ohio University stated they believe a tuition-driven business model is unsustainable because “tuition by itself cannot generate sufficient money to cover the state share of the future cost of education” and “the ability of families to take on more education debt is constrained by the availability of loans, the labor market and earning power of graduates to pay off debt and the fact that disposable income of families is declining.”

Tips for Working With Your Financial Aid Office

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