Fox Valley Technical College Offers Free Tuition To Low-Income Students

Officials at Fox Valley Technical College hope to give free tuition and textbooks to 3,000 low-income students over the next six years.

The school’s new “Promise” program is paid for with a mix of federal student aid and private money from the college’s foundation. No state tax dollars are involved.

Mary Downs, the foundation’s executive director, said the goal is to get more people ready for the job market with advanced education beyond a high school diploma.

“Everything from automotive technicians, nurses, office assistants, marketing, truck drivers. You name it, there is a need,” Downs said. “At the same time, we have all these bright, talented students who are coming from low-income homes who aren’t pursuing anything beyond high school.”

Qualifying students are those who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and have a high school grade point average of 2.0. While in college, they must maintain a GPA of at least 2.5.

College officials just announced the program publicly, but Downs said they’ve been working behind the scenes with superintendents, principals, and high school guidance counselors.

“They’re very excited about the opportunities that this opens up for a group of students who really don’t think that college is in their future because of the financial burden associated with it,” she said. “We know that two thirds of low-income students don’t even think about college or anything after high school because they just don’t think it’s affordable.”

Tuition at FVTC runs between $5,000 and $6,000 a year, depending on the program.

The school will work with low-income seniors this year and expects its first Promise students in the fall of 2017.

Five other Wisconsin technical colleges to offer similar programs. Milwaukee Area Technical College is expecting its first tuition free students this fall.