CARBONDALE, Ill. (WSIL) -- A new system-wide initiative at Southern Illinois University will help families pay for their freshman's education on both the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses. The program is set to begin in the fall of 2021.
University leaders on the Carbondale campus call the initiative, "The SIU System Commitment."
One former student told News 3, it's a great opportunity for incoming students and wishes the initiative was around when she was a student in Carbondale.
"I think its a great initiative if it's helping our low-income students actually get an education," said Cassandra Beal.
SIU's System President said this is the exactly what the initiative is created to do.
"The SIU Commitment Scholarship Program and its focused on providing covering all of the tuition and mandatory fees students who come from families that make less than 63,575 and with assets less than 50,000," said the SIU System President, Dan Mahony.
Students who apply for the initiative must meet additional requirements, such as submitting a free application for Student Aid or FAFSA, be a resident of Illinois who attended an Illinois high school and apply for admission prior to the March first deadline.
The amount paid from the SIU Commitment will not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees and will not cover other costs, such as housing, meals, course fees, books and supplies. It will apply to new, full-time undergraduates beginning in the fall 2021 and will cover eight semesters of continuous enrollment.
"It's about our efforts to provide more access and really focusing on students with the greatest need and trying to make it so that they can come without having to take out loans or any out of pocket cost when it comes to cover tuition or the mandatory fees," said Mahony.
An opportunity Beal says should help new students focus on their education and acquiring better paying jobs.
