Kerri Berry of Peoria has experienced for herself the benefit of a free tuition program offered by Eureka College.
“It has meant the world to me,” said Berry, a 27-year-old mother of four who earned her bachelor’s degree in May as the first Uniquely Eureka Promise student to graduate from the college’s honors program.
“It actually helped me to secure a job just before I graduated. So having not to worry about tuition, and then actually getting a job after the fact was absolutely amazing. It was life-changing.”
Eureka College is expanding the Uniquely Eureka Promise program for those with financial need to all incoming students from anywhere in Illinois. The program is for full-time students pursuing their first bachelor’s degree.
“And it's not just for students coming out of high school,” said Eureka College President Dr. Jamel Wright. “It's for to adults who maybe they have some college credit, and maybe they've taken some time off to raise their families and launch their careers and now they're ready for that next step to earn a bachelor’s degree.”
The program began in 2018 and was originally just for transfer students before growing to include graduates from select high schools in central Illinois. Wright said that by expanding the program statewide, they will increase access to higher education.
“It's huge to enhance the program, but even more so, it's huge to support efforts across the state,” said Wright. “Now we're removing the financial barrier, which is the most significant one that exists when people say they're deciding not to attend college.”
Current annual tuition at Eureka College is around $28,000. Wright said the money for free tuition program comes through state MAP and federal Pell aid, as well as other sources.
“There are a lot of people who are ‘angel donors,’ as we call them, who love to support programs such as this, who love to support students who are low-income and first-generation, because many of our donors were also in that category.”
Eligibility requirements include a 2.8 cumulative GPA, U.S. citizenship for at least one year, and qualifying for MAP and Pell grants. The statewide eligibility is effective immediately and there is no limitation on the number of students. The application deadline for the Spring 2022 semester is Jan. 3.
Cindy Sisson, Eureka College’s interim Vice President of Enrollment Management, said about 46% of their students are first-generation, and nearly half have demonstrated financial need.
“I do think that expanding this is going to give us more opportunity to reach more of those students, particularly in some of the rural areas in the state of Illinois,” said Sisson. “We've been seeing more applications coming from those areas.”
Berry, a Peoria High School graduate who got her associate’s degree at Illinois Central College, is one of 38 students to take advantage of the program so far.
“When I saw it, I was like, ‘that might be something I can do,’ because we were we were low income and my husband had just lost his job,” said Berry. “So I just saw it scrolling through Facebook, and decided ‘why not?’”
She earned a combined degree in psychology and sociology and now works as a home visitor for Peoria County Bright Futures.
“I was actually one of their clients before that, so having been offered the job upon my graduation was amazing. I did not expect that at all,” she said.
Wright said Berry is a good example of the potential created through the Uniquely Eureka opportunities.
“What we've seen so far is families who are not able to afford college, whose young people want to pursue bachelor's degrees but they just can't figure out how to make the math work,” said Wright. “So we've seen people who are ready, who are prepared, who are eager to succeed.
“They've come through the doors of Eureka College and they've made a huge difference on our campus. And we're happy to say that we made a huge difference in their lives, and doors are now open to them with a Eureka College degree in hand.”
