By David Mildenberg, Businessweek
Most public universities around the country are charging roughly the same tuition for their booming online programs even though the costs are typically far lower. The universities are using the revenue to offset state budget cuts and pressure from governors and legislators to lower costs. Once a course has about 30 students enrolled, “each additional online student is added at a fraction of the cost,” said Bobbitt, now president of the University of Arkansas System. “If you can bring things to scale, you can achieve pretty significant revenue.” Most public universities spend $3,000 to $12,000 annually per online student, depending on the program’s size and level of services, said Robert Lytle, co-head of the education practice at Boston-based Parthenon Group, which helps universities with business planning.
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