OU to pay fees for eligible students

NORMAN — Many students won't have to pay tuition or fees to attend the University of Oklahoma under a new program announced Monday.

The Crimson Commitment program will be implemented in fall 2019 for both incoming freshmen and current students who are recipients of the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship.

Oklahoma's Promise is a state-funded program that pays tuition for eligible students. Crimson Commitment will piggyback on that to cover the student's fees up to $8,000 per year.

"We're excited about this program. This is a big one for Oklahoma," said Jeff Blahnik, associate provost for enrollment, who oversees OU admissions and recruitment.

"We want the best students to come to OU. We don't want cost to be a barrier," Blahnik said.

"This is a national trend among flagship schools," he said. "We felt like this is really the right thing to do."

About 2,000 OU students currently receive the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship, which is administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

OU will invest more than $1.5 million each year into Crimson Commitment program through a combination of federal, state and institutional aid sources.

An OU student taking 15 credit hours per semester in the OU College of Arts and Sciences typically has about $4,000 in student fees per semester. The program will pay the fees — not covered by scholarships and grant money a student receives — up to $8,000 per year.

Fees vary based on major. In some cases they cost more than tuition. A schedule of course fees for each college can be found on the OU Bursar website.

The new program replaces the Sooner Promise program, which covered expenses of Oklahoma’s Promiseeligible students up to $5,500, Blahnik said. Current OU students receiving Sooner Promise will automatically be a part of Crimson Commitment as long as they meet the renewal requirements.

Blahnik said the new program is OU’s latest step to battle the increasing cost of college.

OU has increased nearly all freshman scholarships for the incoming class of 2019 and did not increase tuition for the 2018-19 school year.

"We are taking action to make OU more affordable to Oklahomans and want students in the state to think of OU as their future college home," he said. "We are dedicated to keeping Oklahoma talent in our state, and Crimson Commitment helps us serve strong students who are in most need of financial assistance."

Oklahoma residents whose annual family income does not exceed $55,000 may enroll in Oklahoma’s Promise between eighth and 10th grades to earn a scholarship for college tuition.

To qualify for Crimson Commitment, an incoming freshman must:

• Qualify for Oklahoma's Promise

• Apply to OU by the Feb. 1 deadline

• Be admitted to OU as a first-time, full-time freshman directly from high school

• Complete a FAFSA by March 1 of senior year of high school

• Enroll as a full-time student each semester

Go to ou.edu/go2/crimson commitment for details.