The classes are free as long as the student doesn’t want college credit for them. If they want to continue at ASU or transfer credits to another college or university, they’ll need to pay $200 per credit hour.
While $200 per credit may sound like a lot, it’s a bargain by college standards. Take eight three-hour courses online—enough to complete your freshman year—and you’ll pay $5,160. To take those classes in person would cost the average out-of-state student $24,503 in tuition—nearly $40,000 if you factor in room, board and books. Online courses are far more versatile, too. Students can watch a lecture or do the requisite work any time they please.
ASU’s offering is just another sign that higher education is changing radically. With college costs rising exponentially, and with 40 percent of folks who do go to college failing to earn a degree after six years, more and more institutions are offering online educational opportunities. ASU hopes enough students will elect to pay for credit to make the online courses financially practicable. (Fortune)