THATCHER — The recent announcement that Northern Arizona University will offer “free” tuition to certain Arizona students based on income, should not impact Eastern Arizona College or its working relationship with NAU.
In its April announcement, NAU stated it “will provide a tuition-free college education for every Arizona resident with a household income of $65,000 or below, assuring tuition will be fully covered by scholarships and financial aid. Approximately 50 percent of Arizona households currently meet this financial threshold.”
EAC officials told Gila Valley Central the NAU plan is based on the students obtaining Pell Grants and scholarships to cover the cost of tuition, which is identical to the financial aid EAC offers its students and, therefore, will have no negative impact on the 2NAU Program.
The 2NAU Program is a joint-admission program, where a student is first admitted to NAU as a non-degree seeking student while attending classes at EAC until the student is ready to claim a degree program and take classes towards a bachelor’s degree at NAU.
The federal Pell Grant program awards funds to those who have not yet obtained a degree. The grant and amount is based on income of the applicant and generally the funds to do not have to be repaid.
However, there are certain circumstances which can impact the amount of the grant and whether any portion must be repaid, including the number and amounts of scholarships obtained by the student, whether a student has withdrawn early from the degree program under which the student applied for the grant, and whether a student has changed enrollment status.
