Dear Member of the Faculty,
I write to share some exciting news. The Board of Trustees today
approved a new undergraduate financial aid program that will benefit
Duke undergraduates from lower- and middle-income families beginning
next fall. The changes will apply to incoming students and to current
students as well.
Duke is eliminating parent contributions for families who earn less
than $60,000 a year. Undergraduates from families with total incomes
below $40,000 will have no loan packaged into their financial aid. The
loan component of aid will be reduced for families with incomes from
$40,000 up to $100,000 on a graduated basis. Going forward, Duke
plans to freeze the loan component for all four years of attendance at
the current freshman level, eliminating the practice of annual
increases.
The university will substitute grant support to cover these new
benefits to students and their families. In all, Duke will be
increasing its investment in need-based undergraduate aid by nearly $7
million a year.
Duke’s mission is to educate students of promise without regard to
their parents’ ability to pay. This new initiative will make Duke’s
first-rate education more affordable for students from all
backgrounds, today and far into the future. Our Financial Aid
Initiative has already raised $240 million toward its $300 million
goal and will continue through 2008. But we don’t want students to
wait to have the benefits of this effort.
You can learn about our new financial aid program in more detail by
visiting the website at
New Financial Aid Support
Best wishes for a happy holiday season.
Sincerely yours,
Richard H. Brodhead
President