Ohio State University has announced plans to increase aid to provide affordability for in-state students.
According to the university’s official website, Ohio State will begin to insure that all in-state students who qualify for Pell Grants receive an aid package that covers the full cost of tuition and mandatory fees. The university will provide institutional aid to close any gap that remains after Pell Grants, Ohio College Opportunity Grants and other gift aid awarded to qualified students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 90% of Pell recipients have familial incomes of $50,000 or less.
The university’s new program, which will be offered to qualifying new, existing and transfer students, will begin during the fall 2018 semester.
via OSU:
This historic step in Ohio State’s strategic focus on access, affordability, and excellence will expand aid for an estimated 3,500 in-state students. This program to fully cover tuition and mandatory fees will be funded largely through an endowment created from proceeds of the Comprehensive Energy Management partnership.
“Ohio State’s tuition coverage program will help bring the American Dream closer to many more individuals and families throughout the Buckeye State,” said President Michael V. Drake. “We are thrilled to open our doors even wider to so many more deserving students.”
Starting next year on the Columbus campus in 2018, Ohio State will invest more than $11 million each year in the tuition coverage program. The university is also developing a program to enhance financial aid for Pell students on its regional campuses.
“Addressing college costs and protecting college opportunity are defining issues of our time,” Drake said. “Ohio State is fully committed to being a leader in this effort.”