The rising cost of
higher education always seems to be in the news. Grace College is trying to
change that narrative on its campus.
The evangelical
Christian school in Winona Lake, IN, has launched “A Measure of Grace,” an
initiative that lowers the cost of tuition for incoming freshmen by 9%. The
program also provides upperclassmen with a decrease in tuition of about $500 a
year, plus many textbooks are now free and students can earn most degrees
offered by the school in three years.
“We’ve looked hard at
how we’ve spent our money and we have looked hard at keeping costs down,” Grace
President Bill Katip told WBST 22, a CBS affiliate station in
Mishawaka, IN. “And we believe you can have excellence and also keep it
affordable.”
College officials
launched the initiative after watching the number of incoming freshmen decline
after the economic recession of 2008. They made cost-cutting a priority and are
now passing the savings on to students.
“My tuition is the
highest it is ever going to be this year and it will go down a little each
year—actually go down instead of go up like any other college in the world,”
said Grace student Lydia Bronner.
