Reducing Costs in Higher Education

This just in from Steven:

"In 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry challenged state universities to develop $10,000 undergraduate degree programs. Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a similar challenge.  While several schools claimed to have developed a $10,000 degree, nearly all did so through community college partnerships and/or grade-based scholarships to lower the costs for some students. These didn’t lower the cost for providing the education, but instead lowered the costs that students would pay for the education. 

In 2014, Southern New Hampshire University (you’ve probably seen their ads) launched an online degree program in communications for $10,000, which uses a competency-based learning model. Rather than a traditional grade-based curricula, the program works with employers to develop "competencies" that students (all of whom are employees) should master and then assigns projects to develop those skills. While a bit unconventional, it is an official bachelor’s degree from an accredited, not-for-profit university, but is limited to employees of partner companies. 

Affordable college that is open to a wide range of students still remains elusive. The technology of e-learning has the potential to help make college more affordable for many students, but the costs that most students incur has continued to rise each year. Can an e-learning model be developed that does offer a true $10,000 college degree that would be available for masses of students?"