COD Welcomes 1,000 Students In Inaugural Free Tuition Program

PALM DESERT, CA - From College of the Desert: When the 2017-18 school year began on Monday, Aug. 28, College of the Desert welcomed about 1,000 students taking part in the school’s inaugural free tuition program. Overall, enrollment in credit courses is up seven percent so far this semester compared to last fall and prospective students are still welcome to enroll in about 1,300 class sections at www.collegeofthedesert.edu.

The college’s new plEDGE program provides free tuition to incoming students who graduated from local high schools in the spring and attend College of the Desert full-time this school year.

“We do not want the cost of college to prevent students from pursuing a higher education,” said Superintendent/President Joel L. Kinnamon, Ed.D. He announced the plEDGE program during his State of the College to the public in January.

“This program helps remove some of the economic barriers to entering the first year of college while also providing critical guidance, skills and support that is essential to students achieving their educational and career goals,” he said.

And the program doesn’t cost taxpayers anything extra.

About 75 percent of College of the Desert students qualify for some sort of financial aid, including PELL grants and Board of Governors (BOG) fee waivers. All incoming plEDGE students apply for those programs as part of the admissions process. Generous donors in the desert community fund the difference.

College of the Desert has campuses in Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Mecca/Thermal. The community college also offers classes at off-campus sites such as Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs high schools.

Image via Pixabay