Hope’s Anchored Tuition Pledge: The Same Rate from Start to Finish For Every Student

Hope College has a unique — and what many are calling revolutionary — plan to make college more affordable: Hope Forward, which seeks to fully fund tuition for every student. Fundraising to completely achieve Hope Forward’s vision is ongoing, but all families are already saving thousands on their tuition bills through a part of the program called Anchored Tuition.

Hope made the Anchored Tuition Pledge in 2022, promising to hold the tuition rate steady for each incoming freshman class. The tuition amount students pay freshman year stays the same until graduation day.

The pledge is giving many Hope families peace of mind at a time when prices are rising on almost everything due to inflation.

“Anchored Tuition gives us a sense of peace and confidence knowing that tuition will stay constant for the duration of the time at Hope,” said Sara VanPutten ’96 DeMann. She and her husband, Dave, have twins at Hope, Jace and Kate, who are juniors. “The kids know their part for budgeting and planning. Knowing tuition will be stable over four years is very comforting.”

DeMann also called Anchored Tuition a “differentiator in the marketplace,” making Hope attractive to parents and students alike when they are making a decision about what school to attend. Both Jace and Kate considered attending out-of-state and larger in-state schools. When both of them received scholarships from Hope, it leveled the playing field, DeMann said. Knowing they could count on tuition staying the same all four years also helped.

Hope College’s Anchored Tuition Pledge stands in stark contrast to the practice at most other four-year colleges, which raised tuition rates an average of 5% yearly during the past two decades, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Over the course of four years, Hope College families will save about $8,000 on average, said Tom Bylsma ’86, vice president and chief financial officer at Hope. “It’s not just talk. We’re showing with our actions that we’re committed to making college more affordable,” Bylsma said.

Students going to college for the first time, however, might not realize how much they are saving, said Hope’s director of financial aid, Jill Nutt, who works with families to help them figure out how to meet the cost of college.

“Anchored Tuition gives us a sense of peace and confidence knowing that tuition will stay constant for the duration of the time at Hope.”

“Families who are new to college think paying the same tuition all four years is just how it should be anyway. Some aren’t aware that almost all other colleges raise tuition every year,” Nutt explained. “If you bought a car today, you wouldn’t expect to pay the same price for it if you bought the same car four years from now. The cost of providing a college education goes up every year, too.”

College and university financial aid packages don’t cover tuition hikes, either, Nutt added. Aid packages stay the same unless there’s a significant change in family circumstances, which means families need to figure out how to cover any increases in tuition and the cost of room and board. “Anchored Tuition takes one of the unknowns off the table,” Nutt said.

In reality, the cost of providing a transformational Hope College education increases every year, especially with rising inflation, Bylsma said. Without tuition increases, which ranged between $1,200 and $1,500 yearly before Anchored Tuition, the college is forgoing a $2-million to $2.5- million revenue stream, he explained.

Accordingly, Bylsma noted, holding tuition steady for each incoming class is “a step of faith.” Sustaining Anchored Tuition, he said, will need help from generous donors willing to give big and small gifts: It will take everyone working together to make college more affordable.

Faith, not coincidentally, is a primary inspiration for and message of Hope Forward and Anchored Tuition. Hope’s mission is to “educate students for lives of leadership and service in a global society… in the context of the historic Christian faith.” Cultivating a culture of generosity on campus is an important part of the college’s Christian values. It aligns with the Gospel of Jesus, who says in Matthew 10:8, “Freely you have received; freely give.”

Sustaining Anchored Tuition will need help from generous donors willing to give big and small gifts: It will take everyone working together to make college more affordable.

The Hope Forward funding model is grounded in that Gospel principle. Having received fully funded tuition provided by the generosity of others, graduates will be empowered to pursue lives of impact rather than chase income to pay off student loans. In return, students commit to giving back financially after they graduate at any amount they choose so that future students will have the same opportunity. (Students would still be responsible to pay for their room and board.)

“Anchored Tuition is one of multiple steps toward all students participating in the fully funded tuition model of the Hope Forward initiative,” Bylsma said. “We’d love to see all students graduate without debt.”

Mike Meeuwsen ’98 applauds Hope for making the Anchored Tuition Pledge. “It shows a commitment on both sides,” he said. He and his wife, Susan VanderWeide ’98 Meeuwsen, have had two children at Hope. Their son, Devin, graduated last spring and their daughter, Alexia, will be a sophomore this fall. “There’s a commitment on our side — we’ve committed to Hope for four years — and a commitment from Hope’s side to keep tuition steady.”

“Making college affordable helps us and all the other families,” Meeuwsen said. “The value of a Hope College education goes beyond the price tag. I don’t know of any other school of the same size that provides something comparable. The Christian foundation is something I’ve wanted for both my kids.”