The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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January 15, 2013

Rasmussen cuts tuition costs

By Amanda Dyslin Free Press Staff Writer

— Rasmussen College froze tuition three years ago in light of the stagnant economy, and now the college has gone a step further.

The college has cut tuition prices 18 percent for full-time Minnesota students.

The cost per credit for associate’s degree candidates is $395, and the cost for bachelor’s degree candidates is $310. Beginning in February for new students, the cost will be $299 for both degree options, a 24 percent reduction for associate’s and about 4 percent for bachelor’s. (For students already enrolled, prices will go into effect in the fall.)

For an associate’s candidate taking 12 credits, that’s a savings of $1,152. Chief academic officer Trenda Boyum-Breen estimates that for a full-time student who remains enrolled at the college, he or she will save about $10,000 over the course of the degree program.

In addition, the tuition prices will be locked for the duration of the students’ Rasmussen career as long as they remain continuously enrolled until graduation.

Boyum-Breen said the across-the-board reduction in tuition cost is about 18 percent overall, a cost savings for students that the college has made possible with a reduction in operating expenses.

Boyum-Breen said Rasmussen has been monitoring the national student-debt problem and also analyzing the job market, including the average salary of graduates of certain Rasmussen programs, such as early childhood education and medical assisting. In response, the college already has cut tuition to certain programs in the past several years to help ease the financial burden on students, Boyum-Breen said.

For example, in 2011 Rasmussen cut the cost of its Medical Assisting programs by 26 percent, and followed with an 11 percent tuition reduction in its Medical Administration program in early 2012.

“We really need to take a profound approach to showing that Rasmussen College really wants the communities in which we serve, and the nation, that we are very serious about offering a stellar learning experience that produces a great outcome for our students at an affordable cost,” she said.

For more information, visit www.Rasmussen.edu.

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