As part of its 50th anniversary, Ohio University Southern is turning back the clock on tuition rates for adults wanting to take a class.

“It is a chance to give someone who was thinking about going back to college or who had never gone to college a little incentive,” said Dr. Dan Evans, the dean of OUS. “We thought we would roll tuition back to what it was in 1956 when we started.”

The tuition rollback offer is for adults who want to take a single class and have not earned a college degree and have not taken a college-level class in the past five years. The offer is for those interested in attending either the Proctorville Center or OUS’ campus in Ironton.

“It’s aimed at folks who have been putting off trying college, there is an interest but they just haven’t taken the step yet,” Evans said. “It’s just a little scholarship incentive.”

In essence that means a student could take one undergraduate class, up to five credit hours, for $10 per credit hour.

“I think our normal tuition rate is now $134 a credit hour, so it’s a pretty significant savings for someone who would like to take a class,” Evans said.

Evans said the idea for the tuition rollback came out of a meeting focused on how to celebrate OUS’ fifth decade of higher learning.

A committee of faculty, staff and students were kicking around celebration ideas when someone suggested the rollback.

“Everyone thought it was a good idea, so we said ‘let’s see if we can do it,’” Evans said. “It was a team effort, one of many good ideas.”

Stephanie Burcham, director of OUS’ Proctorville Center, said the idea came from Evans.

“He’s being modest, it was the dean’s idea,” she said. “The committee wanted a way for the community to join the celebration. But rolling the tuition back to 1956 was absolutely his idea.”

Both Evans and Burcham said the tuition rollback is a way of giving back to the community that has supported OUS for the past five decades.

“We want this to be something we share with the community and what better way to share with the community than to give them an incentive,” Evans said.

“We wanted a way to show the community that we appreciate their support,” Burcham said. “This is a time of celebration for us but it is also a time of celebration for the community because it has been a partnership for 50 years.”

She said OUS was created by the legislature because of community demand for a local college.

“This is just a fabulous opportunity to get adults interested in coming back to school,” Burcham said.

Fall quarter begins on Sept. 5.

For more information on degrees, tuition, financial aid and reciprocity with other states, call (740) 886-7655 or 1-800-626-0513 or check out OUS Web site at askousc@ohiou.edu.