Pacific Index

Pacific plans to offer students a grant of one tuition-free semester in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the announcement has not been officially made, plans are in the works for Pacific’s Office of Financial Aid to grant students who complete the 2020-2021 fall and spring terms the opportunity to receive one tuition-free semester. The grant will be worth the full tuition of one term at Pacific, which is currently $32,265.

According to Dean Sarah Phillips, the grant was first considered as a way to allow students in the Performing Arts time to participate in shows in front of a live audience once the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic settle. The concept of the free-semester grant eventually extended to all students who wish to partake in in-person, large group experiences or simply want to have more time to complete classes.

“It is too much to ask people to pay an additional semester of tuition just to have those experiences,” Phillips said, “so we want to come up with a way to let students have all of those experiences without the cost of tuition.” 

Theatre and Dance Department Chair Ellen Margolis said she is thrilled for students who are not currently able to participate in experiences like live performances to have this option open to them. “It means so much that the college administration understands the value of the performing arts and the need for rigorous practical training,” said Margolis, “In theatre, we’re doing our best to help develop other skills during this time, such as camera acting and audition techniques. But the option of an added semester allows students to recapture some lost stage time in front of live audiences.”  

While the grant will open up the opportunity for many students to round out their college experience, it is not without its stipulations. Director of Financial Aid Leslie Limper explained that “students who complete the 2020-2021 academic year as a full-time student, which is 12 credits each semester and need to come back after their anticipated graduation date,” will be eligible to apply and be considered for a tuition-free semester. The grant will not be offered to students who wish to take a semester to study abroad. 

“The free term will be the term after [a student’s] expected completion date,” said Phillips. This means that students who are granted a tuition-free semester can expect it after their previously-anticipated final term at Pacific. The application process for the grant is still in progress, but students will likely be informed when it is posted on the Office of Financial Aid’s webpage at the end of the fall term. — Isabelle Williams