Oct 3, 2013 / 03:05 am
Citing a desire to ease financial pressures on parents and students, Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., has announced that it will reduce its annual undergraduate tuition for new students by $5,000 next year.
"I think that all Catholic colleges and universities should do soul-searching these days about what they're charging," Jim Towey, president of Ave Maria University, told CNA Oct. 1.
"The fact is, it's impoverishing a lot of families to have a high debt-load. The parents are finding themselves having to mortgage their lives. Students are graduating with their future so heavily burdened by high debt that we all have to ask whether this is just and sustainable."
Beginning in fall 2014, the Catholic university in southern rural Florida will reduce its tuition from $23,000 to $17,940, a cut of $5,060 for new students. Returning students will pay the same amount that they are paying this year, after scholarships.