DePaul Freezes Tuition For 2020-2021 Academic Year Due To Coronavirus Pandemic Hardships
CHICAGO (CBS) -- DePaul University on Thursday announced that it is freezing tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year to ease the economic burden brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
DePaul said it will not increase tuition for new and incoming students for next school year, and will offer support from a $266 million financial aid pool.
The university did announce plans for tuition hikes for new undergraduates, with lower hikes for returning students and grad students.
But the university's board of trustees on Wednesday voted at a virtual meeting to keep tuition at all 10 DePaul schools and colleges at current rates.
"Mission-guided decision-making has never been more important. At the heart of our decision to freeze tuition is a commitment to provide a world class education to a diverse community of learners," DePaul President Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban said in a news release. "Our community includes those with great financial need and many who are the first in their families to attend college.
Esteban continued, "We understand that for some families, even a modest tuition increase — especially amidst the uncertainty caused by this pandemic — could mean a disruption to their student's progress toward earning a DePaul degree."
DePaul has not frozen tuition for more than 20 years.
For the current spring quarter, DePaul has closed its campus and moved all students to remote learning, in line with other colleges and universities around the area.