CLU guarantees 4-year graduation
University will pick up the tab for remaining classes
(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – March 30, 2009) California Lutheran University is now guaranteeing new students they will graduate in four years or it will pick up the tab for any remaining classes.
The 4 to Finish program is designed to help families save money, especially those affected by the current economic crisis.
If undergraduate students declare their major early on, meet regularly with their advisors, make sufficient progress toward their degree each year and fulfill other responsibilities, CLU promises them they will graduate in four years or the university will waive tuition and fees for the remaining classes.
The program is available to students starting at CLU in fall 2009. As long as they meet the guidelines, students will receive registration priority and the university will make sure they get the classes they need.
With increasing concerns about college affordability and cutbacks at other institutions, 4 to Finish provides students at the private liberal arts and sciences university a cost guarantee. CLU is one of only a few universities in the country to offer this type of program.
While private universities have higher tuitions than public universities, their students graduate at a faster rate, saving the cost of additional tuition and giving students the opportunity to begin their careers sooner. According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, 79 percent of the students graduating from a private nonprofit university finished within four years, compared to 49 percent for public colleges.
The 4 to Finish program is the latest initiative designed to make CLU, which is already one of the least expensive private colleges in Southern California, even more affordable. The university began offering the CLU Guarantee Scholarship: Private Education, Public Price to freshmen in the 2008-2009 year and is expanding the program to include transfer students in the 2009-2010 year. This program allows incoming students who are also admitted to either University of California, Los Angeles or the University of California, Santa Barbara to attend CLU for the cost of attending the public university. The savings on tuition, books and living expenses for freshmen and transfer students amounts to about $16,000 a year.
CLU already provides $19 million a year in financial aid to students, but in 2009-2010 it plans to increase the amount of scholarship money available to current students to help them meet educational expenses during the recession.
For more information on 4 to Finish, visit http://www.callutheran.edu/4tofinish, call (805) 493-3135 or e-mail admissions@callutheran.edu.