**For Immediate Release**
Keeping College Affordable
-released by OPSU Campus Communications 08-23-05
by Laura Dahl
According to figures released by the Oklahoma State Regents
for Higher Education, Oklahoma Panhandle State University
offers the lowest priced four year education available
in the state. Part of the low cost at OPSU is directly
attributable to the textbook rental program. In an article
in the August 22, 2005 issue of The
Oklahoman, Susan Simpson
reported that textbook and supply costs range from $500
to $4,243 per semester at Oklahoma colleges and universities.
The lowest figure, $500, is a typical
amount a student pays at OPSU for books and supplies.
The university’s
book rental program makes the low cost possible. According
to Amanda Batenhorst, OPSU’s bookstore manager, approximately
80% of OPSU courses use rental textbooks, and the remaining
20% of courses require a purchased textbook. Students purchase
new or used books for courses that cover rapidly changing
industries including computer, nursing, and most accounting
classes. Upper-level classes that are only taught periodically
also require purchased books.
In addition to an affordable education, OPSU offers small
class sizes that prepare students well for entering the
work force or for graduate level education. OPSU boasts
nine graduates placed in careers at NASA and affiliated
industries over the past nine years, a number of students
at Oklahoma State University School of Veterinary Medicine,
and several graduates attending medical school and other
graduate health programs. During the past several years,
an OPSU accounting major has received the prestigious Oklahoma
Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) scholarship.
As OPSU nears its centennial celebration in 2009, we look
forward to continuing the tradition of high quality, low
cost education for all students.
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