News Local/State

U of I’s Urbana Campus Pitching Free Tuition To Low & Middle Income Students

 

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois’ Urbana campus announced Monday it will guarantee any in-state student, from a household at or below the state median income of $61,000 per year, will have tuition and fees covered by a combination of university, state, and federal financial aid.

That doesn’t include room and board, or books, but the university said students can apply additional merit and third-party scholarships to those expenses.

Illinois Public Media’s Brian Moline spoke with Kevin Pitts, the U of I’s vice-provost for undergraduate education. He said the promise of free tuition and fees is just one aspect of the new Illinois Commitment program.

"The other piece of it is to simplify the concept of financial aid for students," Pitts said, "especially students who might not realize how much financial aid is available to them."