Are colleges now charging more than the average American family is willing to pay? "Squeeze Play 2010: Continued Public Anxiety On Cost, Harsher Judgments On How Colleges Are Run," a recent survey of 1,031 adults conducted by Public Agenda, shows that Americans still believe in the value of a college education. But at the same time, more of them are growing anxious as tuition costs spiral out of control. Let's take a look at what the survey found. First, the good news about American's perception of a college education . . . 55% of Americans believe that "A college education is necessary for a person to be successful in today's world." Back in year 2000, the same survey found that only 31% of Americans believed that was true. 59 ...

Years ago, military personnel wasted a lot of idle time playing cards or reading magazines in the barracks. Now that has all changed. More men and women in uniform are using their time to pursue college degrees online. According to "Online Degrees Offer Soldiers More Opportunities," a recent article by Natasha Bright in TRCB.com, more and more military personnel are discovering the efficiency of studying online. According to Bright, "Soldiers have always reported that one of the greatest challenges they face in serving is the rigorous schedules that they are forced to work on. For this reason, many soldiers have commonly felt that schooling was simply not a feasible option. More and more that is simply becoming untrue as colleges open up ...

Here is an interview conducted by Keith Hampson that gives a nice overview of how Straighterline reduces the cost of college education. It is reprinted below: Burck Smith is CEO of Straighterline. Full bio. Q: Burck, can we begin with a high-level description of Straighterline? Straighterline provides very affordable, very flexible, very well supported online general education courses for college students. These courses have been reviewed and approved by the American Council of Education's (ACE) Credit Review Service, by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), and by numerous regionally accredited colleges. Students can get real college credit at any college that will award credit for ACE recognized courses or from one of Straig ...

In October, Straighterline's courses were reviewed by the American Council on Education's (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service. All nine of Straighterline's credit bearing courses were given approval. This means that any college - and there are thousands - that adheres to ACE's recommendations will now accept Straighterline's courses for credit. To get college credit at Straighterline's prices, do the following: Ask the college in which you wish to enroll whether they award credit for ACE recognized coursework. If the college does, then sign up and pass a Straighterline course. Sign up at the ACE Transcript Service and pay $40. Have the service forward your Straighterline results to your college of choice. Alternatively, if your co ...

Over the last three months, Straighterline has made quite a splash. First, Kevin Carey wrote a feature article for the Washington Monthly showing how Straighterline's approach to course delivery can save students thousands of dollars. Then, Business Week said the same thing. Not to be outdone, Forbes and the Christian Science Monitor mentioned Straighterline. Finally, even the New York Times linked to Straighterline. Why all the attention? For years, nay decades, people have lamented the rising cost of college. Despite the lamentations, tuition continues to rise and rise. Further, with federal stimulus money leaving higher education at the end of the '10 - '11 school year, expect double digit tuition increases across all public higher ed ...