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Southern Illinois University will allow students from Illinois families with incomes below $63,575 attended the university tuition-free starting in Fall 2021.
The Southern reported four-year undergraduate students at the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses can have their tuition and mandatory fees covered if they meet all requirements. They will still be responsible for housing, meals, course fees, supplies and textbooks.
“This really will provide an opportunity for students from lower-income families to be able to afford to go to college,” SIU President Dan Mahony said.
If a student meets all requirements, their tuition will be covered for eight consecutive semesters. They must maintain satisfactory academic progress to stay in the program.
Other requirements include having assets less than $50,000 based on Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA; be a resident in the state of Illinois; have attended a high school in the state; apply for admission by the priority deadline; and be enrolled in a bachelor's degree program. Before receiving free tuition, students will have to apply for all state and federal aid that they qualify for, which can include Pell Grants and other institutional grants. What those awards don't cover will be covered by Southern Illinois University.
The new programs is a "game-changer," SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane said.
SIU Edwardsville Chancellor Randy Pembrook also call it a "transformational initiative."
Hundreds of students should be eligible for the program next year, Lane and Pembrook both said.
“A student’s ZIP code or economic status should not prevent them from achieving their goal of obtaining a college degree,” Mahoney added.
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