Online tuition for the upcoming fall semester at the University of Missouri has dropped in price in an effort to encourage the state’s students to go to take virtual classes.
Mizzou Online, a renowned online degree program, announced that students living in Missouri will be saving 10% if they enroll entirely online, which amounts to about $82.86 per class. Students must also be graduates of a public community college located in Missouri and be working toward a degree from the undergraduate distance program. It will only apply to a maximum of 150 credit hours.
The online program also offers a 10% discount for active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their dependents, according to Andrew Kessel of the Missourian.
Without the new discount, online students are charged the same as on-campus students, writes Mara Rose Williams of the Kansas City Star, which is $276.20 per credit hour. The school’s online program is independent of state funding since it makes its own money.
About 15,400 students take online courses with MU per year; about 3,400 take classes only online. Most of these online students take two three-credit courses at a time. Distance learning is available in traditional semester format, self-paced with a nine month maximum, or self-paced with eight or sixteen week sessions.
Ron Chesbrough, chair of the Missouri Community College Association Presidents/Chancellors Council and President of St. Charles Community College, said:
Missouri community college graduates are among the best-prepared students enrolling in our four-year institutions for completion of the bachelor’s degree and beyond. We are pleased to count the University of Missouri among our four-year partners, and we welcome this announcement of a tuition award for these highly sought after students.
The discount is aimed to aid graduates of community colleges who want to finish a bachelor’s degree but also have other responsibilities. The average age of Mizzou Online students is 34.
The institution has stated that they are working toward boosting enrollment, and this discount is in accordance with those goals. The state as a whole agrees: Missouri’s Department of Higher Education wants to increase the number of Missouri residents who have a postsecondary degree or certificate to 60% by 2020.
Stacy Snow, a spokesperson for Mizzou Online, said:
We have an obligation to work on increasing enrollment, and accessibility is standard operating procedure.
Jim Spain, MU’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and E-Learning, lauded the increased accessibility:
Providing Missourians with access to high-quality and well-respected degrees is at the core of our land grant mission. This tuition award makes our online bachelor’s programs even more accessible to students across our state.
Korran Alddo of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the online program has nine undergraduate degree options available, which include Early Childhood Education in a Mobile Society, Educational Studies, General Studies, Health Sciences, Hospitality Management, Interdisciplinary Studies, Nursing RN-to-BSN, Radiography, and Respiratory Therapy.
For more information about enrollment with Mizzou Online, visit the program’s website.
