Lowering the Cost of Higher Education

During Voices & Choices, the residents of Northeast Ohio called out for more affordable higher education. Gov. Strickland seems to have listened. In his state of the state address this week, he set a very ambitious goal for the state of Ohio.

This is what the governor said:

Our plan will turn the cost of (higher) education on its head. For students seeking a bachelor’s degree, Ohio is now among the ten most expensive states. Under our plan ... every Ohioan – will have access to a high-quality bachelor’s degree that will rank among the ten least expensive in the nation.

One way the governor is proposing lowering the cost of college is by encouraging more high school seniors to take college courses while still in high school. Here is what he had to say:

Another thing we must do to increase the number of college graduates in Ohio is to stop thinking about high school as an end in itself. Whether through college or technical training, our young people must be brought up with the expectation that they need to continue their education beyond high school.

Building on the existing Post Secondary Enrollment Options plan, today I am announcing that I have directed the Chancellor to give every twelfth grader who meets the academic requirements a choice of spending their senior year in their home high school, or spending it on a University System of Ohio campus.

Tuition for the year will be free.

We will begin enrolling students in this plan for the upcoming school year. Participating seniors will then graduate from high school ready to start their sophomore year in college. In fact, students will receive their high school diploma and one full year of college credits at the same time. The credits will transfer in full to public institutions, as well as many private colleges.

I call this initiative Seniors to Sophomores. Its goal is to raise the aspirations of all students, to challenge students who might feel disengaged from their high school studies, and to help students who want to accelerate their college education. And, just think about the effect on a family’s budget when they save the cost of an entire year of college tuition.