Butler University Launches A great Two-Year College Degree With No Debt
Butler University Launches A great Two-Year College Degree With No Debt To Help Underprivileged Students facing significant financial barriers.
President James Danko of Butler University made this announcement on Friday, making the university the third in the United States to join this network of institutions dedicated to offering affordable higher education opportunities.
This innovative program will enable students to earn an associate degree, followed by the option to pursue a bachelor’s degree from Butler University for an exceptionally low cost, approximately $10,000, as stated by Danko.
In contrast, the flat-rate tuition at Butler University for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year was listed at $44,990 on the university’s official website.
Danko emphasized the historical perspective of the university’s mission, stating, “
We were founded in 1855 by an abolitionist who firmly believed that education had to be available for people.
The primary goal of this new program is to provide vital educational opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds, including students of color, first-generation college students, and those from low-income households.
Danko further revealed that the University plans to commence enrolling students in the two-year college program beginning next year for the Fall 2025 semester. The initiative’s funding will be sourced from endowments and donations.
Butler’s debt-free college program comes on the heels of a significant Supreme Court decision that effectively ended affirmative action policies at colleges and universities, which previously benefited students of color in higher education.
Butler University-This program was developed in collaboration with the Come to Believe Network, an organization that offers advisory services to traditional four-year universities like Butler, seeking to establish cost-effective college programs.
The Come to Believe Network has already successfully launched similar colleges at Loyola University in Chicago and the University of St.
Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the overarching goal of making college education affordable and accessible for all students.
For example, at Loyola’s Arrupe College, a remarkable 76% of students are expected to graduate debt-free upon program completion, according to information provided by the school.
Additionally, for students eligible for federal student aid at Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas, the average out-of-pocket payment during the 2020-2021 school year amounted to just $2,970.
Carlos Martinez, a special projects manager at the Come to Believe Network and an Arrupe College graduate, spoke of his experience, underscoring not only the financial support but also the sense of community that such programs provide.
“Yes, they did offer great financial support. But what made it was the environment, the people there, the community, how caring everyone is,” Martinez shared.
He graduated from Loyola University with a bachelor’s degree in 2021 and is currently pursuing graduate studies at George Washington University.
Elazia Davison, a senior at Believe Circle City High School, a public charter school for traditionally underserved students in Indianapolis, expressed the need for universities to invest in more debt-free college programs.
Davison, who earned his associate degree debt-free from a similar dual-enrollment program at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, emphasized the importance of accessible education, stating,
“When you think about how you’re going to pay for college and how expensive it is … a lot of stress and a lot of trauma responses from not having necessities your entire life can come up.
When you think about all the hard work that goes into you having the access to these classes, it just really shows you that education is important.