Through a program called Illinois Committment, beginning in 2019, the university will “provide financial awards to cover the tuition and campus fees for in-state students whose family income is less than $61,000, the current median family income in Illinois.” Their aim is to attract more high-acheiving students from the state who may not even apply to the U of I because of the cost, instead seeking out-of-state schools that offer scholarship opportunities. The program will be open to eligible freshman and transfer students entering in the fall of 2019, and tuition and campus fees will be covered through a combination of institutional, federal and state aid, including Pell Grants and Monetary Award Program grants. From Chancellor Robert J. Jones:
“We’re acutely aware that a number of students in our state who could be part of the Illinois family never even consider applying, simply because they don’t believe that they could afford to attend the Urbana campus,” Jones said. “As a public university, we must see to it that talented students of all economic backgrounds in the state of Illinois have access to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With Illinois Commitment, we’re taking a bold and necessary step to simplify the financial-aid concept and open the door to an Illinois education for more families in our state.”
This is pretty amazing.