Seniors at Cooper Union received a delightful surprise on the first day of classes Tuesday, when administrators announced their tuition would be free once again.
The prestigious East Village school for art, architecture and engineering was known for more than a century for its free tuition, but financial mismanagement in the 2000s forced it to start charging for classes in 2014.
Since then, administrators have been working toward moments like Tuesday’s, when seniors were told they could enjoy their final year for free, courtesy of a $6 million donation.
“Thanks to the generosity of three extraordinary alumni donors, we are removing a major financial burden for our graduating classes and reaffirming the ideals that have been foundational to this institution since Peter Cooper opened its doors,” outgoing president Laura Sparks said in a statement.
The donation will also cover senior year tuition for current freshmen, sophomores and juniors, according to the school.
Industrialist Peter Cooper founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1859, promising the school would be “open and free to all.” For 155 years, no students were required to pay tuition.
But by 2014, the school was on the brink of collapse after making bad investments to the tune of $35 million and taking out a $175 million loan. The school’s trustees voted on a tuition of $19,500 for all students, calling it “an option of last resort to prevent insolvency.”
A group of students, alumni and professors filed a lawsuit to block it, which eventually resulted in a plan to reinstate free tuition for all students by 2028. Last year, Cooper Union said it was on pace to meet that goal.
“Not only will we restore the legacy of The Cooper Union as a free center of learning, we are also doing our part to address the national crisis of staggering student debt and demonstrating that a different way forward is possible,” the school said in an update.
Entering this year, Cooper Union was planning to charge an official tuition of $44,550 while giving every student a half-scholarship worth $22,275.
Cooper Union has about 1,000 undergraduate students. Thomas Edison took classes at the school, and Abraham Lincoln delivered his anti-slavery “right makes might” speech on its grounds in 1860. It was also the site of the first public NAACP meeting in 1909, and Barack Obama spoke there in 2010.
