Small colleges and universities eager to open more doors to under-resourced students are finding ways to offer free or limited tuition programs in uncertain economic times.
With just 1,800 students, DePauw University in Indiana just launched a financial aid initiative that provides up to 100% of demonstrated need to some students through a mix of scholarships, grants and loans.
“We are elevating DePauw and strengthening the value of our degree, especially among alumni who have voiced interest in inviting more students who previously lacked the means to join our community,” says Mary Beth Petrie, DePauw’s vice president for enrollment management.
The university is pledging to increase financial aid by more than $1 million for the fall 2026 incoming class, bringing total in-house disbursement up to $66 million.
Across higher ed, free tuition programs announced over the past year have slowly expanded, especially at Federal Work Colleges.
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Like other institutions, DePauw faces some of the same budget pressures plaguing many other U.S. institutions, some of which have laid off hundreds of staff members. DePauw raised tuition by nearly 4% this academic year to cope with an uncertain national economic outlook, Andrea Young, vice president of finance, told the university newspaper.
Strict financial stewardship and increased donor support drive the university’s ambitious aid strategy through today’s shaky financial landscape, Petrie says. “They work together to make this all possible. Without one, it all falls apart.”
Last year, an anonymous donor gifted DePauw $150 million, with matching donations from alumni and other supporters helping raise the total to $200 million. The funding was partly motivated by the the university’s latest strategic plan, which fuels its free tuition program.
Young also credits a new third-party enterprise resource planning system with helping Depauw paint a clearer picture of its current budget. New software-as-a-service models, known as SaaS, offer reflexive, real-time dashboards that can model tuition scenarios and respond quickly to enrollment or budget shifts and much more.
“We had a homegrown system, but with many homegrown systems, it can’t keep up with today’s fast-paced needs,” Petrie says. “Having the right tools has elevated how we can examine our budget and take more responsibility over spending.”
