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Edison highlights unique ways
to pay and save for college;
public session set for
Tuesday, January 15,at 6:30 PM
Edison Community College provides key information on unique ways to obtain financial assistance for higher education on Tuesday, January 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
This public meeting, titled "Tips for Affording College," will be helpful for prospective students planning to study at Edison and other institutions of higher education.
Advanced registration is not required; admission is free. The event takes place in the North Hall theater
on the main campus in Piqua. Interested persons should phone 1-800-922-3722, ext. 321.
Although not considered true forms of “financial aid,”
programs enabling students to gain credit for prior learning can significantly reduce the cost of going to college.
At Edison, for example, a student in such a program is charged only about one-fourth of the credit hour rate for those courses for which credit is being granted. A full-time student benefiting from credit for prior learning in four or five courses could conserve as much as $1,000 in a single term.
"When you think of financial assistance for college-- grants, loans, scholarships, and Veteran's benefits often come to mind initially as the resources which can help pay for tuition and other college expenses," said Lisa Waldrop, Edison's Director of Student Financial Aid.
In fact, during the academic year ending last June, aid from these resources benefited more than one-half of Edison’s student body at an average of more than $2200 per student. Today, approximately $2500 pays for tuition for a full year of study at the local community college.
"However, a variety of other resources can extend
your assistance even further," Waldrop pointed out. "They, too, can help you pay-- or even save-- for a college education."
Tuesday's "Tips for Affording College" event will highlight credit earned through both examination and portfolio evaluation.
The portfolio method converts knowledge or expertise into college credit through the student’s development of
documentation that details learned skills.
Credit-by-exam students demonstrate appropriate levels of competence through assessments of proficiency either prepared by Edison or by the College Level Examination Program (CLEP).
These credit for prior learning programs are especially useful for members of the workforce who have already acquired specific career skills.
"Because of Edison's affordability and availability of various sources of assistance, we can help students eliminate college debt or wipe out a large portion of it," Waldrop said.
Special class offerings also enable students to conserve money normally used to commute to campus.
Flex classes require about half as many trips to Edison as regular classes. Online and video-cassette courses eliminate commutes almost entirely.
Such classes are available during Edison’s spring semester which opens January 14 at both the main campus in Piqua and the Darke County Campus in Greenville.
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