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Free tuition your freshman year? It’s possible at Texas State

Source: KXAN News

Student debt can be debilitating. To help reduce the cost of higher education, Texas State University in San Marcos is launching its “Freshman Year for Free” program to help new students cut back on tuition.

The program was created through a partnership with Modern States Education Alliance. It will allow prospective students to take online courses for free to earn college credit. It mimics the Advanced Placement student route to getting college credit in high school but is targeted toward non-traditional students that were not offered college courses in high school or are working adults interested in higher education.

All interested learners should take a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) online. There are many sites offering MOOCs but the Modern States Education Alliance is only working with Edx,created by Harvard and MIT, to offer free classes.

Once the course is complete the next step is to take an AP exam or College Level Examination Program (CLEP). If you get a score of 3 or better, like an AP student in high school, that credit can go toward your first year at Texas State. Those exams cost between $80-$90.

Students can either take up to 30 units (10 classes), or as little as 15 units (5 classes) and have a full year or half a year completed. Texas State encourages calling their admissions department so that you can line up with the desired major before taking courses.

Texas State is the first public Texas university to offer the program. However, Modern States Education Alliance is a national organization that services other universities like Arizona State.

The alliance started the program in December 2014. MOOC’s have always existed but not all are guaranteed to get you college credit. Through the alliance, all of their approved courses go towards college credits.

Here is a list of all of the courses they offer. They will launch these courses in fall 2016.

Student debt can be debilitating. To help reduce the cost of higher education, Texas State University in San Marcos is launching its “Freshman Year for Free” program to help new students cut back on tuition.

The program was created through a partnership with Modern States Education Alliance. It will allow prospective students to take online courses for free to earn college credit. It mimics the Advanced Placement student route to getting college credit in high school but is targeted toward non-traditional students that were not offered college courses in high school or are working adults interested in higher education.