High Cost of Textbooks Remains a Burden for Many Students

Many students at Ohio’s public and private colleges are facing a new reality this fall, forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to take their courses remotely from home or under strict social-distancing restrictions in the classroom.

For most students at traditional, campus-based schools, nearly every aspect of classroom instruction and campus life has changed. But despite that disruption, one factor remains the same. Students still need to purchase – and pay for – increasingly expensive textbooks and other mandatory course materials. In fact, the College Board estimates that a full-time undergraduate student at a four-year public college will need to pay about $1,300 for books and supplies over the school year.

In stark contrast is Western Governors University Ohio, an accredited, nonprofit university that charges a flat resource fee of just $145 for each six-month term. That fee covers the cost of all required e-textbooks, use of the school’s extensive online library and most other learning resources the student will need. In addition, WGU faculty members work one-on-one with students as mentors, offering guidance, support and individualized instruction.

WGU Ohio students not only save on textbook costs, but also tuition, which is about half of other universities. To offer students maximum flexibility, WGU terms start on the first day of every month and the flat-rate tuition allows students to take as many courses as they want.

A coalition of 19 U.S. state governors established WGU in 1997 as an affordable, online-only university, primarily for adult learners to earn a degree while working and caring for their families. In recent years, WGU has also become an appealing option for college-age students who are interested in education-to-career pathways in the high demand fields of health, nursing, business, teaching, and information technology.

More information is available at www.wgu.edu/ohio.html or by calling 866-903-0108.