Something you're college doesn't want you to know!

As a college student, it amazes me at just how much my tuition has been raised in the past couple of years, and that doesn't even include the heavy cost of text books that are "required" for class.  I decided to take a look at some of the fees that go into my tuition.  Some of these included a "Land Acquisition" fee that racked up to $75.00!  What exactly that charge means or how it is benefiting my education, I honestly would not be able to properly tell you because I myself do not know.  

When I first applied to the University I currently attend, my tuition was nearly half of what it is now.  Even with the H.O.P.E. scholarship, which is a $3,000 scholarship that is provided here in Georgia for students with high academic achievements, that used to cover my entire tuition as well as cover the cost of books.  Now, it fails to do that due to the ever increasing tuition rate and it only provides an additional $100 for books.  It is getting to the point where my college degree is becoming more of a financial investment than anything else. 

An article I stumbled upon makes a very valid and interesting point about college.  "“The current system makes little sense,” argues Henry Eyring, author of The Innovative University. “A student pays one amount regardless of credit load or type of course being taken, and the university has no financial incentive to help the student get a good grade,” he told FoxNews.com. " The fact that it doesn't matter how many credit hours we take, we are still expected to pay the same amount as someone who it planning on taking 18 credit hours.  It simply does not make any logical sense. 

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/03/stanford-yale-and-oxford-educations-are-free-online/

The fact that it doesn't matter how many credit hours we take, we are still expected to pay the same amount as someone who it planning on taking 18 credit hours.  It simply does not make any logical sense.  

There are now Professor's at Ivy league University's, such as Stanford, that are taking a different and somewhat controversial approach to educating their students.  There is a class that is currently being offered at Stanford called "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence". It is only offered online, and guess what? Yup, that's right, it is completely free! The only set-back about these free, online classes are that they are unaccredited, however, they do put you ahead of the game when it comes to putting it on your resume.  There are currently more than 135,000 students that have decided to take on these additional free, online classes that are being offered by these prestigious universities.  Some may ask, why would any university offer free classes?  It's simple, exposure for the college which in turn will give them a "good" image as well as the possibility of potential new students.  As much as I disagree with the almost 400% increase of tuition over the past few years, I do commend the universities that are going against the norm by offering such unique classes are of absolutely no charge to students!