Hodson and his colleagues wanted to find a way for Berea’s low-income students to graduate entirely debt-free.
The unique work-based college in Kentucky was already covering tuition for its students, who all come from low-income families. Students are employed for at least 10 hours a week on campus.
For most students, there was still an annual gap of about $1,000. That was the amount not covered by federal and state financial aid and money from the college.
In August, Berea announced it would cover the full cost of attendance starting in the fall of 2027. That meant tuition, fees, room and board, and even supplies and books.
⚙️ The process: A donor stepped forward to help cover the initial cost of the plan for a year.
Relatively, that cost wasn’t a lot. With a typical enrollment of 1,500 students, the college would need an extra $1.5 million. Berea has a roughly $130-million budget; most expenses are covered by interest from its $1.8-billion endowment as well as other annual fund raising.
Still, the college had to make “totally free college” both understandable and sustainable.
Berea had to revise financial-aid letters. Officials had to make sure the messaging was clear to parents. “[We’re] making sure they do understand, like, there is no catch when you see zero as your bottom line — that that’s a true transparent number that you can trust,” Hodson said.
The college also had to make the math work.
