Full Sail University currently offers 25 bachelor’s degrees on campus and online, with tuition costs ranging from $56,000 to $80,500. How does this compare to the cost of other institutions’ bachelor’s degree programs? On average, a Full Sail bachelor’s degree costs $9,040 less than one from one of Florida’s five largest public universities and $20,419 less than one from one of Florida’s five largest private colleges.

We analyzed tuition costs at ten other schools in Florida, a group of schools that are – according to the data collated by the U.S. Department of Education that is available at the National Center for Education Statistics’ IPEDS data site – the five largest public universities in Florida and the five largest private colleges in Florida.

We chose to look at the Florida schools with the largest student populations, as we felt that criterion was a good indicator of how accessible these institutions were from a financial perspective. And, since 77% of Full Sail’s students come from out of state, we looked solely at out-of-state tuition costs. Yes, there are less expensive community college and in-state university options across the country; however, we believe that the specialization and quality of Full Sail’s curriculum makes enrollment here a unique decision. Considering those factors, along with our strong alumni success stories as well as the numerous accolades and institutional recognition we have received, we believe our tuition is priced appropriately.

This is what we found:

Florida’s Five Largest Public Universities (out-of-state):

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $59,960
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $111,744
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $79,932
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $81,373

Florida’s Five Largest Private Colleges/Universities:

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $54,048
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $158,616
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $75,480
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $92,752

Full Sail University Bachelor’s Degrees:

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $56,000
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $80,500
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $79,250
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $72,333

Tuition prices were taken from each institution’s website for the 2011-2012 academic year, and only include tuition and fees, not books, room and board, or living expenses. (When tuition information was not available on the institution’s website, we used the most recent data available via the IPEDS site.) When tuition was presented on a per-year basis, we multiplied that rate by four to determine the full cost of a bachelor’s degree program, since most students in traditional universities complete their bachelor’s programs in four to six years. When tuition was presented in a lump sum or range, we used the lowest lump sum number available. Additionally, another variable that could not be accounted for was annual tuition increases; some of the schools analyzed here raise tuition rates annually for all students, while Full Sail’s tuition rate remains fixed for each student from their start date.

If you are curious about how Full Sail’s graduation rates compare to the national average of all colleges and universities, Full Sail’s institutional graduation rate is 81% compared to 49% for all U.S. higher education institutions. (Download an Excel file containing data for all U.S. higher education institutions.)

This graduation rate is calculated using a methodology mandated by the U.S. Department of Education under the Student Right to Know Act. Graduation rate information is publicly available via the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics website called IPEDS (http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/), which gathers educational data from schools across the country. These numbers are as of the Fall 2008 report, the most recent period for which there is Department of Education data available for both Full Sail and the national rate. Full Sail’s graduation rate report as of Fall 2009 is 78%, and an analysis of the national rate will be available shortly.

IPEDS provides an apples-to-apples comparison of graduation rates for all institutions, as it requires all schools to report their numbers according to Department of Education guidelines.

Our overall graduation rates listed above differ from the “on-time” graduation rates published elsewhere on our website and other reporting materials because “on-time” graduation rates are calculated and reported differently than overall graduation rates. The degrees that Full Sail offers proceed in a defined, month-to-month manner. Students take specific classes during each month of their degree track and, if, for whatever reason, a student needs to retake a course, then they have hopped off that degree track and are no longer considered “on-time” when they graduate.

At traditionally-paced institutions, if a student needs to retake a class, they can simply tack on extra credit hours in an upcoming semester and still graduate on time. At Full Sail, if your 20-month Film bachelor’s program takes you, say, 22 months, you are not considered to have graduated on time. (But you’ve still graduated in less than half of the time of an “on-time” bachelor’s student at a traditional university.)

To the average person, whether they graduate “on-time” or not isn’t as important as graduating, with respect to their lifestyle and schedule.