University economist explains Gross Domestic Product and what it means to Americans

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – As the government releases third quarter GDP numbers the average American wonders what this means to him or her. Don Kassner, president of Andrew Jackson University and an economist, explains Gross Domestic Product in a seven-minute video at http://www.aju.edu/educateamerica . This brief but succinct lesson in economics is the second in the weekly Educate America series the university produces.

When the government announced the financial bailout in late September, it quickly became evident many in Congress did not know how to deal with the economic situation or even what caused it. Jay Hellman, an Andrew Jackson University shareholder, suggested the school develop courses in economics and offer them free to those in Congress. Sadly, there were no takers, so the university decided to broaden its offer to include all Americans, and the Educate America in Economics online video program was hatched.

“The current economic crisis initiated a bevy of phone calls and e-mails from acquaintances who knew I was an economist,” said Kassner, “and Hellman’s suggestion prompted us to create short online videos offering insight into basic economic principles the average Joe could understand, plumber or not.”

Kassner says Andrew Jackson University is also developing two inexpensive courses in economics that can be accessed online. He says these courses, one for college credit and one with just the basics, will be available in January.

Andrew Jackson University is a private degree-granting institution with headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama and students accessing courses from all over the world. Known for its distinctive approach to providing education, the university recently introduced a program whereby third parties sponsor a student’s tuition. This program eliminates tuition and significantly reduces the cost of a college degree. For information see http://www.aju.edu.

Contact Information

Don Kassner

President

Andrew Jackson University

Contact via E-mail