HOLLAND, Michigan — If all goes as planned, Hope College students will no longer have to pay tuition.
Under a plan announced Wednesday by school leaders, once they graduate, students will be expected to contribute to the same fund that gave them a free ride. It's called "Hope Forward."
This "pay it forward" approach is a way to pay for college unlike any before - based on generosity and gratitude.
"It's a model that's not based on tuition at all," said Hope College President, Matthew Scogin, "it's a tuition-free model."
"What we're talking about is not free tuition, but instead, tuition free," Scogin added.
But how does it work?
This fall, 22 students will be the first of the "Hope Forward" program. Each of them will attend Hope College only having to pay for room and board, but have committed to pay-it-forward after they graduate.
"In a 'Hope Forward' model, every student who comes through the doors of Hope College would have their tuition 100% covered through the endowment," said Scogin.
Every year after 2021, Hope College will expand the number of students who benefit from the "Hope Forward" model until they reach 100% of students in the program.
"College has never been more important, and yet at the same time it's never been more cost-prohibitive," said Scogin. "Higher education is priceless, but it is way too expensive."
Scogin said it will take about a $1 billion in their endowment to permanently provide tuition-free access to all students.
"We have a long, long way to go and we are well aware of that," said Scogin, "but in my own head I'm anticipating that this is probably a decade-long project."
Scogin said the backbone of this model is all about generosity and re-thinking how we go about getting students through college.
"Higher education can never actually be free," he said. "College is and always will be very expensive, but the question we should ask is who should be paying for it and when."
Scogin also believes by making this commitment with students, it will create a lifelong bond between the students and the school, and in turn excite them to give back after graduation.
"In doing so, they're not paying for their own education, because theirs was paid for," Scogin said, "rather they're paying it forward."
You can learn more about "Hope Forward" and Hope College here.
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