Innovation in Higher Education: Offering Students a $10,000 Bachelor's Degree

As a recent guest on the Solutions for Higher Education podcast, Southern Utah University's Provost Dr. Jon Anderson discussed SUU's newest innovation with President Scott L Wyatt and host Steve Meredith. 

The new program aims to support students that have completed some of their higher education, but have yet to earn a bachelor's degree. These students have a significant life commitments, whatever they might be, and are looking to open doors with a degree. To serve this population with a cost effective and efficient pathway, SUU is launching a $10,000 bachelor degree in general studies. 

"We began with the students who had attended SUU, accumulated some credits, but had not graduated," said Provost Anderson. "We looked at a window of time of students who had been out three years but no more than ten, had not graduated from SUU and had not graduated from any other institutions. That population is about 14,000 students and it's a huge part of the student body that passes through the institution. We started looking to find out how we can better serve them so that we can help them earn a bachelor's degree."

The program offers one degree, a bachelor of general studies, and is designed to be affordable for the population of students that are raising families or working or have life commitments. 

"I believe we're the first institution in the intermountain west to offer a full bachelor's degree for under $10,000," said Provost Anderson. "This program consists of about 40 courses the student can complete to get to 120 credits. Courses are offered in seven week sessions and in an asynchronous online format, and so students can complete their studies at their own timeline on their own schedule. And this will allow them to be a graduate of Southern Utah University and receive all of the benefits of having a bachelor's degree at a much lower price point."

Listen to the full interview:

Dr. Jon Anderson serves as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUU and oversees university matters that affect academic programs, scholarly and creative efforts, and outreach involving faculty, students and staff. He provides leadership for academic quality, academic appointments, tenure and promotion, as well as fostering a positive learning environment.