Imagine a world where you could get a bachelor’s degree for $10,560 in tuition. Not a per year cost, but $10,560 for the entire program.
California is trying to make that world a reality.
California’s state legislature recently passed a bill that will allow a small number of community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees and if signed into law, it will become the 22nd state to expand the reach of community colleges into bachelor’s degree territory.
There are some caveats. Students will not be able to get liberal arts degrees in traditional fields. Instead, the program aims to provide degrees that put people to work, according to Marketplace.
The degrees will cover fields where employers didn’t always require a four-year degree, but high unemployment rates and the subsequent competition for jobs has prompted the need for a more educated and trained workforce.
The plan has its limitations, but that price tag is hard to beat.
According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2013–2014 school year was $30,094 at private colleges, $8,893 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. Multiply that by four years and you’ll see the extent of predicament most students or future students are in.
The high cost of college is the primary reason student loan debt has skyrocketed to more than $1 trillion and its an area of the higher education debate that has been largely ignored by lawmakers.
This new push by California could prove to be an effective higher education model for the future and a great step in the right direction for lowering college costs nationwide.
