Athens State Nationally Ranked Among the Most Affordable

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Guy McClure

256-233-8296

Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release
November 14, 2013
www.athens.edu

Athens State Nationally Ranked Among the Most Affordable 

ATHENS, Ala. - Athens University has been recently named among the most affordable institutions of higher education in two national publications. AffordableCollegesOnline.com ranks Athens State number one with the most affordable tuition rate for online coursework in Alabama. OnlineU.com ranks four disciplines in Athens State’s College of Business within the top 10 nationally with affordable online tuition rates.

“For-profit schools no longer dominate the distance-learning landscape,” said Dan Schuessler, founder and CEO of Affordable Colleges Online. “So many of today’s top universities have added full online degree programs to their catalogs, making it much easier for non-traditional students to receive a quality education.”

Affordable Colleges Online (AC Online) recently identified the colleges and universities in each state with the most affordable online degree programs. AC Online focused specifically on distance learning options from public and private non-profit institutions with full accreditation.

“Offering students great online programs is only half the battle,” added Schuessler. “The colleges on our list offer students quality, flexibility and affordability.”

OnlineU found Athens State to have the top ten most affordable tuition rates in four of its online disciples – Accounting, Business, Human Resources and Information Technology.

OnlineU is an independent resource offering authoritative alternatives in higher education. The SR Education Group, based in Kirkland, Washington, developed the site as a means for students to have a source for objective online education resources. Its mission is to refocus the higher education conversation around affordability and quality and make access to online college information more transparent.

“We recently completed extensive research into the cost of attending different online colleges to enable students to find the most affordable online degrees,” stated SR Education Group Head of Marketing Kim Wetter in a congratulatory email to Athens State. “With the average price of college skyrocketing forcing many students to rely on student loans to fund their education, we were impressed with Athens’ ability to continue to offer online degrees in accounting, business, HR, and IT at a reasonable price.”

While Athens State offers the lowest tuition rate in the State of Alabama for all of its traditional and online courses, OnlineU singled out four within the University’s College of Business as the most affordable nationally. Accounting was ranked #5, Business ranked #9, and a ranking of # 6 for both Human Resources and Information Technology.

“The White House released figures in August reporting that most college seniors are graduating with over $26,000 of debt from student loans,” states Athens State Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ronald R. Cromwell. “Being recognized by these two national resources as offering a quality product at an affordable price speaks well of our mission and our ability to produce graduates who are unencumbered by crippling debt.”

In June of this year, Athens State University was similarly recognized for its financial effectiveness by the online journal, The College Database.

Athens State University offers a variety of fully online bachelor's degrees and certificates to students within several subject areas, with several online degree options available in business. Other degree options may offer distance-learning options, but still require students to take some courses on campus. Athens State is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

For a full listing of Athens State’s tuition and fees visit: http://www.athens.edu/admissions/tuition.php.

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