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"The National University System, for example, is developing  a variety of initiatives aimed at bringing down the cost of a degree, including through FlexCourse?, a teaching and learning platform that offers faculty-supported, variably-paced online degree programs at an affordable price point of $8,500 annual tuition. The platform is initially being offered in conjunction with John F. Kennedy University, through JFKU Online --  both part of the National University System."

""The goal is to build awareness on campus, so students know that OER brings textbook costs down and increases accessibility," said Professor Ching-Jung Chen, Digital Scholarship Librarian, who, working closely with the Provost's office, is spearheading the initiative at CCNY. "We also want faculty to recognize that there are resources on campus and colleagues who have already adopted OER successfully.""

"The kalamazoo promise was simple. Live here, go to school, and your tuition is paid for. But with scale comes complication. The idea of free college is still in its infancy-it took 28 years to get the Morrill Act right, and it's only been 13 since the Kalamazoo Promise. But in the current political climate, the path forward is murky and winding, and that makes it hard for the movement to maintain the momentum it needs. The window of opportunity for nationwide tuition- or debt-free college is still ajar. The next couple of elections could close it completely or throw it wide open.  "

"Every dollar a student can save matters. That is why Virginia recently passed legislation (HB 454) to mandate that every public institution of higher education in the state create a framework to adopt and use open educational resources and low-cost resources across the state."

"Sometimes the post-secondary instructors who create the content are given grants through the project's funding and sometimes they do it "off the side of their desk," she said. "Instead of getting a royalty fee every time someone buys their commercial book, we give you money up front to do this work," Coolidge said. According to BCcampus, 26 per cent of students in the province have at some point chosen to not register for a course because the cost of the required textbooks were too high."

This is a deep and complex question, one not susceptible to single answers or easy slogans.  Fortunately, two William and Mary economists have published one of the best and most accessible explanations I've ever seen."

"Key findings from the report include: When publishers bundle a textbook with an access code, it eliminates most opportunities for students to cut costs with the used book market. Of the access code bundles in our sample, forty-five percent-nearly half-were unavailable from any other source we could find except the campus bookstore. This eliminated student's ability to shop around and meant that they were forced to pay full price for these materials. For the classes using bundles, students would likely be stuck paying full price, whereas for the classes using a textbook only, students could cut costs up to fifty-eight percent by buying used online. Schools that have invested in open educational resources (OER) generated significant savings for their students. OER are educational materials that can be downloaded or accessed for free online while carrying many other benefits for students and professors. For example, in Massachusetts, Greenfield Community College's use of OER in three of the six courses in our study meant that students there could spend as little as $31 per course on materials, compared to a national average of $153 per course. Switching the ten introductory classes in our study to OER nationwide would save students $1.5 billion per year in course materials costs."

"Students are unknowingly ensnared in The Maze when they first stop into the college bookstore to collect required books prior to the start of classes. They may be shell-shocked by the prices, but feel they have no alternative but to purchase the materials."

"Homelessness has caused Jasmine to give up on some dreams. She wants a college education, so that means giving up a home."

"The program kicks off today with two curriculums, Business or Supply Chain Management for associate and bachelor's degrees with additional curriculums to follow at three non-profit universities: University of Florida which is ranked #17 in the nation for its business school by U.S. News and World Report, Brandman University and Bellevue University. The five-year long program will include what Carlson calls "having a personal coach for education" from the application process up through graduation."

"Student debt in the U.S. has reached record levels, making higher education out of reach for many people. In New York City, a program called ASAP is gaining national attention for helping students earn a college degree and escape the burden of loans they would struggle to repay."

"The average cost for a textbook bundle in the report sample was $157, versus $134 for a new textbook from the college bookstore or $56 for a used textbook from Amazon. The report calculated that by switching from publisher textbooks to open educational resources from organizations like OpenStax, the 40 colleges in the sample could save students up to $13 million per semester for these 10 courses."

Mission U provides students career-focused, online courses with zero up-front costs. After graduating, students don't pay any tuition until they're earning a yearly salary of $50,000 or more, in which time they would pay 15% of their paycheck to Mission U for 3 years. After those three years are up, students are completely debt free.

"Would you rather spend four years plodding toward a diploma, or networking with Wall Street CEOs and diplomats as a member at US president Donald Trump's exclusive "Winter White House" resort in Florida? For some people, the latter would be far cheaper."

"It raises the question of which is better for students: an imperfect textbook or no textbook at all? To address this concern, publishers of open textbooks are beefing up academic oversight to offer peer-reviewed material that they say is comparable to proprietary textbooks. And, they're finding an audience."

"The plan, announced by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo earlier this month, is among a growing number of attempts to encourage college professors to turn to free, open-licensed materials. And, in this case, the effort is being billed as a way to cut the costs of a college education."

" In Boston, for example, the average cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment is $2,821, which means that you would need to earn $120,900 a year just to afford it"

"Private colleges raise their tuition 65 cents for every dollar increase in federal subsidized loans and 55 cents for Pell grants given to low-income students, according to the report. College tuition has outstripped U.S. inflation for decades."

"The average college student working full time at minimum wage earns $15,080 annually before taxes, the report estimates. "Working might eventually cover tuition at a two-year program," said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown center and the report's lead author. "But the earnings aren't sufficient to even get close to covering a private, four-year school." "

" With a degree in creative writing, she's been working short-term teaching jobs since her 30s, often skirting poverty, never achieving the job security traditionally associated with academia. Now in her 60s, approaching retirement age modestly in a compact mobile home, she's helping build one of Vermont's few adjunct unions to help colleagues gain the respect on the job she has long been denied."