The most expensive four years of your life could and should be cheaper, or at least that’s how some people see it (3T4D6PGG25SS).
Representative Daniel Branch, Republican of Dallas and chairman of the House Higher Education Committee is attacking the expensive costs of college, according to an article in the New York Times.
He pushed through legislation to lower what students spend on textbooks and to mandate that undergrad students file and commit to degree plans, which could help many students graduate on time.
Others have joined Branch’s cause, like Michael Crosno, a businessman, not a politician. Crosno is putting heat on Congress from the outside to reduce how many years it takes to earn a degree.
A little more than half of all college students graduate in six years, not four. Crosno is trying to change that, and he’s slowly becoming a national player in the education world.
“That’s one statistic that just drove me bozo,” Crosno told the New York Times. “My goal is very simple: get more kids to go to college.”
In 2008, Crosno helped Chris Chilek and John Cunningham, two Texas A&M University graduates running Pick-a-Prof, transform their project. Pick-a-Prof started as a Web site that lets students rate their professors electronically. Other students could then log on to find out how hard a professor is, how much work he/she demands and other figures.
Crosno stepped in and helped the duo create MyEdu, which now lets students create a customized degree plan to match their desired workload for each semester. The site can also help students find a quicker path to graduation, in addition to still allowing students to comment on professors.
Some colleges have tried to adopt similar plans that let students work with advisors to customize degree plans, hoping to graduate as soon as possible.
MyEdu claims that 70 percent of its users graduate on time, nearly double the national average. The site also lets students compare textbook costs, helping students find the best deals to save more money.
But, Crosno is focusing most of his efforts on reducing how long it takes to earn a degree. He believes that the savings on textbooks are negligent to taking years off of college. Crosno recommends that students load up on AP classes in high school to reduce the number of classes they have to take in college, shaving semesters or years off their degrees.
