Temple unveils new plan to reduce student debt, boost on-time graduate rates

Beginning in the fall, Temple University will offer incoming students from low income and working class families $4,000 annual grants to help cover the cost of tuition if they agree to work off campus no more than 10 hours a week during school, President Neil D. Theobald announced Monday.

The program, "Fly in 4," is designed to help students graduate within four years by reducing their need to work off campus.

The grant would cover more than a quarter of in-state tuition and fee costs, now at $14,096.

Up to 500 of the university's 7,000 incoming freshmen — roughly 7.1 percent — will be eligible for the grants, Theobald said. Transfer students also are eligible if they can graduate in four years.

The program will cost Temple about $2 million in the first year and $8 million by year four.

"In talking to students at Temple about why they aren't proceeding on a four-year plan, the issue that comes up is 'I have to work,'" Theobald said during a telephone interview. "We've been looking at data on that. The research is very clear - kids that work more than 15 hours a week have a lower GPA than kids who work less than 15 hours per week."

Students from needy families are working an average of 25 hours a week, he said.

"What we're saying is if you will commit to working no m ore than 10 hours per week and you commit to using the time to stay on the four-year plan, we will discount your tuition by $4,000 a year," he said.

The program is aimed at reducing student debt, which Theobald announced as a major focus of his presidency when he came on board a little over a year ago. During his inaugural address in October, he promised a "landmark new affordability pact."

"We want to make this place as affordable as possible," he said.

Theobald's announcement comes one day before Gov. Corbett is set to announce higher education funding for the year ahead. Temple and the other state-related universities have been coping with declining or flat funding over the last few years.

Theobald said he doesn't know what the governor's budget will include for Temple, but he said Temple has made the legislature and governor's office aware of the new program to help needy students.

Five hundred new students will be accepted into the grant program each year, more if donors step up and want to target funding to help, Theobald said.

"Clearly, we'd love to be able to generate support so we could go beyond 500 kids," he said

Also, the university will guarantee to provide all of the courses students need to graduate in four years. If that guarantee isn't met, Temple will pay for the additional courses, Theobald said. The university will step up academic advising and course scheduling to help students meet the deadline, he said.

Around the country, colleges are trying new approaches to mitigate the rising cost of tuition as pressure mounts from students facing a crushing debt load.

Cabrini College, a Catholic school in Radnor, cut its tuition by 12.5 percent to $29,000 for the 2012-13 school year. It then froze tuition for 2013-14, as well as most room and board rates.

Rowan University, a state school in Glassboro, also froze tuition this year. Peirce College in Philadelphia will give a 10 percent discount on summer tuition to students who attend the previous fall and spring semesters.

Strayer University last year announced a program to provide students with a free course for every three courses they complete. The free courses can be cashed in during the student's final year.

Some colleges have created online degree programs and accelerated degrees so students can graduate earlier and avoid more debt. States, including Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, and California, have seen a push for a $10,000 four-year degree.