ISU Announces ‘Bold’ Tuition Free Education
Indiana State University President Deborah Curtis in the Inside INdiana Business studio in September 2021.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana State University has launched what it calls a “bold institutional initiative” by guaranteeing a tuition free education for first-time students. ISU says the Indiana State Advantage is a three-pronged approach that is designed to attract and retain students to the Terre Haute campus. The program will start in the fall semester of 2022.
During the recording of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick Thursday, which airs this weekend, ISU President Deborah Curtis said the program is a unique approach not usually seen at public universities.
“If for some reason the university is unable to complete you in those four years. That’s on us,” said Curtis.
The three-prong approach includes:
- Experiential Guarantee: Every first-time, full-time student on campus can apply for up to $3,000 for an educational experience outside the classroom — an internship, study abroad, research, or service.
- Tuition-free Guarantee: After aid is calculated, ISU will make up any difference in tuition costs for Pell Grant eligible students from the state of Indiana who had a high school grade point average of at least 3.0 and are in good academic standing.
- Four-year Guarantee: Eligible students will be able to finish a bachelor’s degree in four years or the rest is tuition free.
ISU says there is no new spending involved in the Indiana State Advantage. The university says it is reallocating existing internal aid and scholarship resources to benefit all first-time, full-time students on campus.
The institution says the Indiana State Advantage emphasizes the school’s quality, breadth of opportunity, and affordability while supporting the state of Indiana’s goals around degree completion, equity, and talent.
“We offer high-quality education, small class sizes, caring professors and a culture of inclusion and support,” said Curtis. “We also offer a wide breadth of academic and extracurricular options, with world-class faculty who work with undergraduates in state-of-the-art facilities.”
The university says it will launch an advertising campaign to draw attention to the effort. Click here to learn more about the program.
You can see the full segment with President Curtis on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.