Cornerstone University is touting a new app that lets students earn degrees on their smartphones as a first-of-its-kind, quicker and more affordable way to do college. Key features of the app include the fact that it is self-paced and can be accessed anywhere in the world, offering “incredible amounts of flexibility” to students who are too busy to come to campus or enroll full-time.
The app — developed by the university in collaboration with Michigan Software Labs and launched in March 2025 – is currently being offered to about 250 enrolled students through what is known as the university’s SOAR program, Cornerstone University President Gerson Moreno-Riaño told FOX Business.
Using the app, an associate or bachelor’s degrees cost $9,600, and a master’s degree is $15,000. Gerson Moreno-Riaño says the app enables the university — a small, private, Christian college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan — to “keep the cost significantly lower” and still deliver “world-class quality experience.” The average annual cost to attend Cornerstone is $20,301.
The bigger picture:
The affordability of Cornerstone University's mobile platform presents a striking paradox in the current higher education landscape. By offering a bachelor’s degree for a flat fee of $9,600 — less than half of the university’s traditional $20,301 average annual cost — the SOAR program effectively lowers the barrier to entry for students who are traditionally priced out of private Christian education. However, this significant price drop raises critical questions about the hidden costs of such efficiency.
Cornerstone’s mobile app is part of a larger trend of colleges and universities devising more convenient ways for students to earn degrees without ever having to set foot on campus. But as institutions offer new programs for students to matriculate remotely, regulators and academics are raising questions about “degree hacking” – a practice whereby students speed through degree programs in a matter of months – and whether the education students receive via their technological devices is on par with the education that they would receive in a regular classroom.
Scholars of technology and literacy, such as Naomi Baron, have found there are benefits to reading physical books versus reading material on an eReader or other technological device.
For instance, in a 2024 book chapter titled “Student Perceptions and Practices When Reading in Print and Digitally: An Evolving Saga,” Baron and colleague Anne Mangen discuss “screen fatigue” and how easily distracted students were on their devices. “At the same time, students appreciated digital affordances such as internet access, search functions, and online dictionaries,” the authors wrote.
As colleges and universities provide more ways for students to use their laptops and handheld devices to access higher education and earn the credentials they need to get better jobs and promotions, leaders should mind the balance of what these more accessible pathways could cost in the long-run.
