The Board of Trustees approved sweeping changes to the University's financial aid apparatus during its meeting Saturday.
Under the new system, parental contributions to tuition will be eliminated for students with family incomes of less than $60,000 annually. In addition, students with family incomes of $40,000 or less will see loans replaced by grants.
Students from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 will see reductions in loans on a graduated basis, and students above that line will have loans capped at $5,000 per year. The changes will take effect in Fall '08 for all students receiving need-based aid.
"The main thing we're interested in is affordability, making people understand that Duke really is affordable," President Richard Brodhead said at press conference Saturday. "You don't have to be able to pay the price tag to be able to go to Duke."
University officials said the changes are the first fruits of the Financial Aid Initiative, a $300-million push to raise funds that is slated to end in one year. Of the target, $230 million will go toward undergraduate need-based aid. Brodhead said in a statement that the initiative has reached $240 million.
"Duke is one of a handful of universities that's committed to a philosophy of need-blind admission," Brodhead said. "Whatever the family can pay we expect them to pay, and if they can't, Duke helps them along. We've taken these steps to guarantee true affordability going along."
He added that the University will strive to make the changes known to this year's applicant pool. Although Duke does not aim for a particular socioeconomic demographic profile, Brodhead said, the changes may result in greater enrollment for lower-income students.
The new system resembles trumpeted renovations to the financial-aid structures at other elite universities and liberal arts colleges, exceeding some but not going as far as others. The changes do appear to put Duke in the vanguard of a movement to reform financial aid.
Princeton University gained national attention in 2001 when it announced that it would eliminate all loans for students qualifying for need-based aid. Davidson, Amherst and Williams colleges have also eliminated loans.
Harvard University in 2004 abolished family contributions for students with family incomes of less than $60,000. Like Duke, it has not fully eliminated loans.
Although retaining some loans, Duke will end a pattern of giving students larger loan packages each year they are enrolled.
Board Chair Robert Steel, Trinity '73, said the plan's near-immediate implementation reflects the University's enthusiasm to make change quickly.
Brodhead added that the focus on reducing costs for middle-class students-between the $60,000 and $100,000 annual-income marks-is a second distinguishing characteristic of the new system.
According to a University statement, officials expect the changes to benefit approximately 2,500 students, with the average aid recipient gaining $2,500 annually in support. Brodhead estimated that in addition to a standard yearly increase in financial aid, the plan will infuse approximately $7 million dollars of aid into the system next year.
"With the changes we are making... it actually may cost an eligible family less to attend Duke than a publicly supported university," Director of Financial Aid Jim Belvin said in the statement.
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