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“
Our business program is
still very popular, but we offer
much more now for many more
people,” Bunch said. “Medical
assisting and medical technician
programs are also very popular.
And this summer we will add
a new bachelor’s program, Law
and Social Justice, which we be-
lieve will be popular, as well.”
Midstate is a for-profit school,
which Bunch said presents its
own sets of challenges. “There
are a lot of strict regulations that
we have to meet that other,, pub-
lic schools don’t have to worry
about. I’m not saying I think
regulations aren’t a great idea.
Of course, they are. We need to
be regulated to a degree. But it
should be the same across the
board,” she said.
Being private and for-profit,
Midstate receives no tax sub-
sidies. It is tuition based. That
doesn’t mean the students can’t
get aid to attend Midstate; it just
means the school is funded only
by tuition and fees.
Still, Bunch said, “We are one
of the most affordable private col-
leges in the state and many of our
students are able to get enough
aid to cover an entire year’s tu-
ition,” she said.
A school year at Midstate is
three quarters and tuition is
$5,075 per quarter, or $15,225
for the year. Students don’t need
to worry about room and board
since Midstate is a commuter
college.
As such, Bunch said Midstate
is ahead of the curve when it
comes to offering online classes,
something it started doing well
ahead of many college. “But we
haven’t used it as a tool to get a
massive expansion of programs
or enrollment. We use it for the
convenience of our students.
So many of our students work
full-time jobs and may be single
parents. To be able to go to school
from home or wherever they can
use a computer is the only way a
lot of them can physically do it,”
she said.
While Bunch believes online
education will continue growing,
she still believes there need to be
a combination of online classes
and on-campus learning. “We feel
face-to-face contact between our
students and instructors, and just
being available to our students, is
very important,” she said.
The Present
