CARBONDALE, IL (WSIL) -- The SIU Board of Trustees is taking steps to ensure more students have the chance to earn a college degree.
During Thursday's meeting in Carbondale trustees created the SIU System Commitment.
Leaders say it is a "system-wide initiative beginning Fall 2021 that will cover tuition and mandatory fees for new four-year undergraduate students who have a family income of less than $63,575 and meet basic requirements."
Further details about the plan were released by the university:
SIU System President Dan Mahony said the program would fill the gap these students might have after other financial aid and scholarships have been applied. The program will be available to new students at both SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville.
The amount paid from the SIU System 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 fall 2021 and will cover eight semesters of continuous enrollment. Participants must maintain satisfactory academic progress in order for the program to be renewed.
To be eligible, participants must have an annual family income less than $63,575 with assets less than $50,000 based on a submitted Free Application for Student AID or FAFSA. They must be an Illinois resident who attended an Illinois high school, apply for admission by the priority deadline of March 1 and enroll in a baccalaureate degree program.
“From Governor Pritzker, his leadership team at the Illinois Board of Higher Education and our Illinois legislators all the way through to our Board of Trustees, system and campus leadership, our goal is to keep students in Illinois and attract students to our campuses,� said SIU System President Dan Mahony.
“This has been a priority and it signals an important message we want to send to students and their families that the SIU System campuses are doing all they can to make college available, especially for those who have the most challenging time paying for it,� Mahony said.
Mahony noted a 2017Â Â by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) that found that students from lower income backgrounds could only afford 1 to 5 percent of the 2000 colleges included in the study.
“A student’s zip code or economic status should not prevent them from achieving their goal of obtaining a college degree,� Mahony said.
“The entire Board wants to commend President Mahony, Chancellor Lane, Chancellor Pembrook and their enrollment management teams who have worked very hard to ensure we have this opportunity ready to offer prospective students and their parents as they begin looking at college choices,� said SIU System Board of Trustees Chair Phil Gilbert. “This is a great announcement coming on the heels of the important enrollment and retention gains our campuses made this fall. This is one more example why an SIU campus should be a top consideration for students across Illinois.�
“Higher Education changes lives but access to higher education can be limited because of financial challenges. The SIU System Commitment program will provide that access and open doors for future SIUE students. We are excited to be part of this transformational initiative,� remarked SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook.
“Our goal is to remove barriers so that all qualified students have access to an SIU Carbondale education,� said Austin A. Lane, SIU Carbondale chancellor. “A college education opens doors that lead to rewarding careers, and no student should have those doors closed due to financial restraints.�
News 3 WSIL has a crew headed to the SIU Carbondale campus to get reaction from students and campus leaders.
