Debt-free and loan-free are how UCA’s President Houston Davis described UCA Commitment, the school’s latest offering to entice students with affordable education: “You will not find another similar college or university across the nation offering a program that has the potential to open the doors of higher education to this many families,” Davis said.

The opt-in program will begin in fall 2024 for first-time freshmen with household incomes of $100,000 or less. Spring start and transfer students are not eligible.

In announcing UCA Commitment, Davis cited rising college costs as a discouragement for enrollment and retention.

“The options for them are not great. They take out loans. They max out credit cards. Students and families walk away assuming that a college degree is no longer attainable.

“And to make matters worse, some of them leave with some debt incurred and no degree in hand to show for it,” Davis said.

Board of Trustees chair Curtis Barnett lauded Davis’ work on the program. “Over the last seven years, President Davis has set forth a vision that has challenged the status quo and dared our campus to dream big,” he said. 

Davis announced the pilot program in a trifold reveal of news for the university; that it had reached its UCA Now fundraising goal of $100 million, and that it had received $10 million from the Windgate Foundation.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

UCA Commitment uses a combination of scholarships, work-study, volunteer hours and federal aid to cover tuition and fees of eligible students.

Davis said that many students do not apply for federal aid they could be eligible for, such as the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship. The program aims to maximize federal aid and UCA scholarships first.

“It’s crazy how many students leave dollars on the table,” Davis said. “We’re gonna make certain every student gets almost a case manager sort of support that they need to be able to claim those dollars … and then we’ll know what their real unmet need is, and then that’s what we’re gonna bridge.”

After that, if more costs remain, UCA will offer students a work-study position in different areas around campus including:

• Campus beautification

• Health and wellness

• Administrative and office support

• Athletics

• Arts and campus engagement

• Communications and creative services

• Event and hospitality services

• Student success and academic support

• Housing and learning communities

• IT and technical support. 

The university will gauge work-study interest with a survey and then place students based on availability and interests; they do not get to choose.

If students opt out of work-study, they will “need to find employment or funding elsewhere to pay the remaining tuition and fees,” according to UCA.edu.

All students in the program regardless of need amount and work-study participation must also complete a minimum of 10 service hours per semester.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

First-time freshmen Arkansas residents entering fall 2024 whose households make an annual income of $100,000 a year or less, or are Pell Grant-eligible, are eligible for the program.

Current students, spring-start students, transfer students and out-of-state students are not eligible. 

To opt-in to the program, students must have applied for the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship and must submit a FAFSA.

No special application is required. UCA will notify accepted students of eligibility if they have an application for the Arkansas Challenge scholarship and a completed FAFSA on file.

Notifications of eligibility will begin in spring 2024. 

WHAT’S COVERED?

The program covers tuition and fees, but not housing costs such as room and board or educational materials such as textbooks or other required materials.

In February this year, students saw the highest room and board increase since 2019.

Based on a double-occupancy room with a total access meal plan, the room and board rate raised from $8,250 to $8,663 — a 5% increase amounting to $413.

This covers the entire academic year, breaking down to roughly $4,331.50 students must cover with their own funds each semester.

However, UCA offers academic scholarships that include housing stipends upon admission for high school students with GPAs of 3.5 and up. Housing awards for these scholarships range from $1,500 to $8,500 annually. 

The highest awarding scholarships have an admission deadline of Jan. 23, 2024. 

Textbooks range in cost per semester and major, but according to UCA.edu: “Nationwide, average books and supplies are $600 per full-time semester,” for an average academic year cost of $1,200. 

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Students are only eligible for admission into UCA Commitment in their first-time fall freshman semester. 

If a student chooses to not opt in for this semester, they will not be eligible for reconsideration into the program.

If a student does not meet the requirements for UCA Commitment and is dropped from the program, they cannot be readmitted. 

Students must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA to remain in the program and must submit a FAFSA annually. 

Students must meet the program’s deadlines to maintain eligibility;

2024

Jan. 1: FAFSA becomes available

Jan. 23: Priority scholarship admission deadline

April 1: Final deadline to apply for admission, FAFSA

May 1: Program opt-in deadline

July 15: Deadline to opt-in to work component

IMPACT ON CAMPUS

Davis expects roughly 758 participants in the first year of the program. He also expects a bump in enrollment from the initiative. 

“This program probably results in a freshman class of 1,900, 1,925. This is going to impact more retention as we go forward,” he said.

But in a hypothetical scenario of record enrollment, Davis said there is no cap on how many students the program could admit.

“Let’s say that we had 2,100 students that want to come to the university. They’re all eligible as long as they meet the income threshold, and they opt-in, and they agree to do work study. So there really is there is no limit on any students that we can serve.”

With an influx of students and a focus on work-study, Davis said that work-study positions at UCA will increase.

Currently, the university has roughly 800 work-study positions, but he expects that number to climb to 850-900 positions in the fall.

As the program matures, Davis said that work-study priority will be given to UCA Commitment students. Of the estimated 758 UCA Commitment students in fall 2024, approximately 252 will be eligible for work-study.

To learn more about UCA Commitment, visit https://uca.edu/commitment or email [email protected].