July 11, 2006 -- Essex Junction, VT
GetEducated.com, LLC, America´s online degree
clearinghouse, has released the results of their
nationwide survey of costs at online bachelor degree programs.
The survey of 78 regionally-accredited colleges
revealed online learners should be prepared to
pay as little as $10,560 or as much as $105,720
for a regionally-accredited, four-year
undergraduate distance degree in business or management.
Premiering at the number one spot as the most
affordable online degree is East Carolina
University (North Carolina) with a modest cost of
$10,560 for an online bachelors degree for state
residents. Out-of-state residents will pay
significantly more ($59,640) for the same
distance degree. New York University (New York)
topped the price chart for the most expensive
online undergraduate degree at $105,720.
Average cost nationwide for an online bachelors
degree is $40,224. Widely advertised for-profit
colleges consistently rank higher than average in
cost, with the University of Phoenix online charging an average of $57,000.
GetEducated.com´s list of the Top 25 Ranked Best
Buys in Online Bachelor Degrees is archived online at:
<file:///C:/My%20Documents/Press/http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_bachelorsbm.asp>http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_bachelorsbm.asp
Public Colleges & Universities Offer Best Buys in Online Degrees
Among the 78 regionally-accredited colleges
surveyed by the clearinghouse the average cost
for an online bachelors in a business or
management area in 2006 is $40,224. All 25 of
the top ranked best buys in online colleges came in at or below $30,000.
The survey reinforces a trend already apparent in
the clearinghouse´s national surveys and rankings
of online masters degrees: best buys most often come from public institutions.
The University of Phoenix, for example, charges
an average of $57,000 for their online bachelors
in business. Phoenix, a publicly-traded
university system operated by the Apollo Group,
charges an average of twice what is charged by
distance learning Best Buys such as Fort Hays
State University of Kansas ($15,600), University
of Wyoming Online ($15,840), Governors State of
Illinois ($20,520), Empire State College of New
York ($23,172) and Ohio University ($23,750).
With 78 options to choose from for a
regionally-accredited online bachelors consumers
have never enjoyed a greater opportunity to get
educated at a reasonable price. "The first
lesson," cautions Vicky Phillips,
GetEducated.com´s founder and chief analyst,
"should be learning how to shop for an online
degree. Consumers can choose to pay as little as
$10,560 for a name-brand bachelor´s or more than
$100,000. Online learners should scrutinize what
they are paying for before opening wide their wallets."
"Consumers should be aware that more publicly
supported university systems such as the
University of Wyoming and Thomas Edison State
College (New Jersey) are offering online degree
options. However," continues Phillips, "most
state and publicly supported colleges do not
advertise their offerings widely. Online
learners must take the initiative to ferret out
best buys in name brand online education."
Free College Guidebook Aids Online Learners
Consumers can explore all their online degree
options by downloading a copy of the
clearinghouse´s FREE guidebook (ebook) to
accredited online business degrees,
GetEducated.com´s Best Distance Learning
Undergraduate Schools, Business, Management, at
<file:///C:/My%20Documents/Press/http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlus_bm.asp>http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlus_bm.asp
About: Founded in 1989, GetEducated.com, LLC is
the safest place in cyberspace to shop for an
online degree TM. In a nationwide campaign
against online diploma mills, the clearinghouse
accepts neither advertising nor listings from
unaccredited online colleges or from colleges
"accredited" by bogus agencies. The
clearinghouse operates the Diploma Mill Police,
(SM), a free online degree accreditation
verification service designed to protect
consumers from fraud, and publishes a series of
100% free ebooks to online colleges and online degree rankings.
CONTACT: Goldie McPike, Information Services,
GetEducated.com, LLC, Essex Junction, VT. 05456.
802-899-4866. Website:
<file:///C:/My%20Documents/Press/http://www.geteducated.com/index.asp>http://www.geteducated.com/index.asp