Affordable Degrees Served Up Online and in Hybrid (“Blended Education”) Models

For several years, students at a wide range of colleges and universities have been taking at least a few courses online, typically in low-level, basic classes. Today, however, a growing number of students are getting a large part (or even all) of their classes online, at traditional nonprofit colleges and universities, or at for-profit schools. Online courses afford students the ability to set their own schedules and are typically less expensive than traditional colleges and universities.

A strong trend is the growing number of online undergraduate and graduate programs available from brick-and-mortar campuses, whether completely via the internet or as a hybrid of online instruction and in-person courses. The campus closings during the Coronavirus pandemic accelerated this trend dramatically. Some states are attempting to use hybrid education, relying heavily on online methods, to enable students in certain university courses to obtain an undergraduate degree for less than $10,000. Miami-Dade College is a pioneer in this regard. Florida college costs are already among the lowest in the nation.

Arizona State University is widely recognized for its aggressive adoption of technologies including online classes combined with classroom learning. Earning some college credit while in high school may be a viable strategy in keeping costs down. In addition to a wide range of degrees available on-campus and via blended on-campus/online programs, Arizona State offers online-only undergraduate degrees ranging from art history to criminal justice to political science and English. Online-only masters’ programs include those in business analytics, nutrition, Engineering and an MBA. Online programs are attracting higher numbers of top-tier students hoping to save costs and avoid spiraling student debt.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech, with a goal of lowering the cost of advanced degrees for distance learners, offers online master’s degrees in computer science for modest tuition. Most of the students were employed while studying part-time. The program offers students the ability to interact with their professors via a dedicated website. One Georgia Tech professor noted that he interacted far more with his online students than with those he saw in his classroom.

Many students are electing to study on their own and then take rigorous tests from schools such as the University of Wisconsin or the University of Indianapolis to earn course credits. The University of Indianapolis has a dedicated test center where exams are proctored and are available at modest cost. The concept, which awards degrees based on competency rather than classroom hours, is unique, but it may grow. Western Governors University in Utah, chartered in 1996, focuses on competency-based education and has a massive enrollment.

2U, Inc. acquired online learning pioneer edX in late 2021. 2U is the parent company, with edX operating as its global online learning platform and primary brand for products and services. Together, 2U and edX serve more than 230 partners—including 19 of the top 20 ranked universities globally—and offer more than 3,500 online learning opportunities to over 40 million learners, including free courses, executive education, boot camps, and undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Innovative Free Tuition Programs:

Several U.S. states have initiated programs to provide free tuition to students who qualify. The programs often focus on community college students, while placing caps on maximum family income. In April 2017, New York became the first state to offer free tuition at all public two- and four-year colleges to families that meet certain income restrictions.

In 2013, Tennessee devised a program that aims to boost the level of adults with either a college degree or a technical certificate based on readily available scholarships (including private funding and monies generated through the state’s lottery) and increased usage of federal student aid. The program was quickly successful and led to a significant drop in the use of student loans. Enrollment at community and technical colleges soared.

There are hundreds of programs in the U.S. offering free college or vocational schoolition, according to the College Promise Campaign (see collegepromise.org for a state-by-state map). Berea College, located in Berea Kentucky, which a “No-Tuition Promise” to students. One of the ways that the school accomplishes this is by requiring all students to agree to work at Berea College for no less than 10 hours weekly, often at the day-to-day maintenance tasks that keep the campus in operation. Students get work experience while they avoid thousands of dollars yearly in costs.

Another trend in education is that the average college student is older than in the past. To attract older students (many of whom have already been working in full-time careers), colleges and universities are offering shorter, faster credentialing, as well as college credit for job experience. Purdue University acquired online education provider Kaplan University partly to serve older students. Purdue quickly formed a new, public university called Purdue University Global, comprised of Kaplan’s 15 campuses. Another school that caters to older students is Colorado State University-Global, which was founded in 2008 and had 18,000 students by 2020.

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