Edison State College is looking to offer a four-year degree for $10,000 as part of Gov. Rick Scott’s 10K challenge.
Scott’s challenge is aimed at making higher education more affordable in Florida.
College officials are currently working to offer a four-year degree for about $3,000 less than it usually costs.
The program getting a price break is in Secondary Biology Education. Graduates are eligible to become biology teachers.
Erin Harrel, the dean of the School of Education, says they chose this particular track because it has been difficult to recruit science teachers in the area. She also says it was one of the only tracks that is even feasible to offer at a lower price.
“There are programs that cost more to run-- health care programs because of the equipment,” Harrel says. “Because of the space and the equipment that they use a lot of the times the associate in science degrees in the health areas are more costly to run. So, it would be more difficult to get those degrees closer to $10,000.”
She says because science teachers usually require higher degrees, they are scarcer.
The average cost of a four-year degree for in-state students at Edison State is $13,000.
