Welcome


This blog is dedicated to the topics of Course materials, Innovation, and Technology in Education. it is intended as an information source for the college store industry, or anyone interested in how course materials are changing. Suggestions for discussion topics or news stories are welcome.

The site uses Google's cookies to provide services and analyze traffic. Your IP address and user agent are shared with Google, along with performance and security statistics to ensure service quality, generate usage statistics, detect abuse and take action.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

TSUS to Offer Free Freshman Year

While politicians debate ways to reduce the cost of a college education, the Texas State University System (TSUS) is joining a growing list of institutions trying to do something about it. TSUS will begin participating in the Freshman Year for Free program in 2016 through its partnership with the not-for-profit Modern States Education Alliance.

TSUS is the first public institution in Texas to offer the program, joining Rice University in Dallas and institutions and higher-education organizations in Arizona, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee.

“Our goal in partnering with Modern States’ Freshman Year for Free program is to provide students with another option to earn their degree on a timeline and budget that works for them,” said TSUS Chancellor Brian McCall.

Students participating in the program will be able to select freshman-level courses from the Modern States catalog that will apply toward degrees at TSUS institutions. Once the courses are completed, students can take Advanced Placement (AP) or College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests for college credit.

The program will offer more than 30 online college courses being developed by the massive open online course provider edX with no cost for the course or online texts and materials. Modern States is creating a web portal for its course catalog that will also link students to resources such as low-cost or no-cost tutors and information on partner colleges and universities.