Alliant cuts undergrad tuition 25% as part of "re-engineering" bachelors programs for transfer students
October 16, 2006 - San Diego, California – One nimble, innovative, private nonprofit university has responded to challenges recently spelled out by US Education Secretary Margaret Spelling by being one of the vanishingly few universities nationwide to have actually cut undergraduate tuition and by ending the confusing practice of advertising one tuition rate and charging another to most students. “Undergraduate classes are like airplanes. Everyone on board is paying a different price for the same seat," comments Alliant International University President Dr. Geoffrey Cox, “We want to be transparent and provide students with not only a valuable education, but also good value for money.” Alliant International University’s responses to Spelling’s challenges are outlined by a White Paper released today. Written by Vice President for the Center for Undergraduate Education (CUE) Dr. Eric V. Gravenberg, the paper outlines both the demographic, economic and school practice issues that create problems for students moving between secondary and higher education and Alliant’s responses to them. Those problems include vague school standards, underserved minority populations and skyrocketing – and misleading - tuition prices. In 2006, long before Spelling’s challenge, Alliant cut tuition for its fall 2006 undergraduate programs by more than 25%, across the board. It also ended the practice of stating one tuition price and charging another by discounting costs to certain students through after-the-fact scholarships. Alliant further holds the line on prices because students know in advance how long it will take to graduate; their graduation is not delayed by unavailable classes or “impacted majors.” Commenting on the White Paper, Alliant President Dr. Gravenberg said: “We are ‘re-engineering’ our undergraduate education.We have ‘outsourced’ the first two years of college to people who are specialists at it – a huge community college system. We help students by ending hidden costs and reducing the time it takes to graduate. We’re a private, nonprofit university, so we can’t match the subsidized tuition rate per hour public universities charge. But we have avoided costs that we would bear to provide broad-scale general education. We have focused our resources on areas of real expertise and specialization.” Alliant has responded to Secretary Spelling’s challenges in the following ways: -
In 2004, Alliant eliminated its first two years of undergraduate education, transforming itself into an institution dedicated to serving upper-division transfer students and working adults. -
Alliant cut tuition for its fall 2006 undergraduate programs by more than 25%, across the board and ended the deceptive practice of stating one tuition price and charging another by discounting costs to certain students. Current undergraduate students are enjoying a $5,000 drop in tuition costs. -
To ensure that students are ready to enroll after the first two undergrad years, Alliant has developed “articulation” agreements with 30 community colleges over past year. The agreements make sure that the courses at Alliant and the community colleges match up and that students don’t loose credit with courses that don’t count toward CUE enrollment. Alliant has already completed agreements with Mesa College, Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District and Imperial Valley College in the San Diego area, and with Ohlone College in the San Francisco Bay Area -
In June 2006, Alliant partnered with Southwestern College and Sweetwater Union High School District in San Diego to create a ground-breaking plan to place middle school students on the path to academic success by helping them transition into high school and, subsequently, college. Alliant’s White Paper came shortly after Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced her plans to improve the US higher education system, in response to a year-long study by her commission on the future of higher education. For more on Alliant’s innovative response and how this private, nonprofit University, continues to anticipate the changing needs of higher education, please read the white paper at the link below For More Information
|
