PROVIDENCE – Eligible undergraduate students entering Johnson & Wales University this fall can either have most or all of their tuition covered through a new program.
JWU announced Monday it is launching a new initiative, titled The JWU Pledge, where institutional, federal, and state scholarships and grants will cover a qualifying student’s tuition either partially or fully based on their household income bracket. Students and families with an annual household income of up to $80,000 will have their entire tuition covered by The JWU Pledge, the university says.
The pledge will also cover 60% of tuition for students and families with household incomes less than $200,000. Currently, JWU’s tuition, excluding fees, costs $41,782 per academic year. Therefore, depending on household income and this year’s tuition, The JWU Pledge will cover between $25,069 in tuition costs or the full bill.
“At Johnson & Wales, we are creating pathways to make higher education more affordable, accessible and attainable for students of all means and backgrounds,” JWU Chancellor Mim L. Runey said in a statement. “This new initiative … demonstrates the university’s deep commitment to our educational mission of expanding lifelong access to higher education.”
The JWU Pledge comes a couple months after the university will become the first higher education institution in the U.S. where its students taking certain degree programs in person can earn those diplomas in just three years. That program, which has received to date 200 applications from prospective students, was also created as a mean to help lower tuition costs for students and families. As a result, a three-year degree can be earned at JWU will one less tuition bill to pay and get into their careers quicker.
Meredith Twombly, JWU’s vice president of undergraduate enrollment management, told Providence Business News on Monday that the JWU Pledge and the three-year degree initiative are tied together with the goal of making college more affordable, which Twombly says is becoming a national issue. With JWU Pledge, the university was looking to support the students in most financial need, Twombly says.
Twombly also says the students who are from families with incomes close to $200,000 “often get squeezed a little bit” on financial aid need, so the university wanted to provide assistance to those students residing locally as well.
“We were incrementally increasing the aid to both of these students the last couple of years,” Twombly said. “Now, we’re just really ready to formalize that commitment.”
Students from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and JWU's Charlotte, N.C., campus are eligible for this program. Eligibility requirements include having a 3.2 high school grade point average or higher, must live on campus, be eligible for a Pell Grant for those seeking full tuition coverage, and must complete and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – or FAFSA – and all requisite forms.
Twombly says students who are enrolled via the pledge will continue to have their tuition be reduced or free throughout their degree programs if they remain eligible while as JWU students. Additional eligibility will likely include “satisfactory academic progress,” Twombly said.
JWU says the pledge may be expanded to students from other states in the future. The initiative does not include loans, the university says, but families can decide to pursue them in addition to the pledge to help cover other costs, including housing and meal plans.
Twombly says JWU has not set a firm number as to how many JWU Pledge-eligible students it plans to accept next fall and JWU Pledge is open for all university degree offerings. Through JWU Pledge and the three-year degree program, the university, Twombly says, wants to send prospective college students “a clear message” that JWU may be “the most competitive option” for them depending on the desired career paths they’re pursuing.
“We do want to want to be competitive with state schools and private schools in our region,” Twombly said.
(UPDATED throughout to include comment from Johnson & Wales University Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment Meredith Twombly.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.