I wanted to alert you to something coming up on the horizon this week. We reported in the fall that president Knapp intended to make GW more affordable, and had asked his senior staff to research ways to accomplish this. Knapp also said at the time that he wanted to increase scholarship grants and lessen the University’s dependency on tuition.

The likely result of this will take place at a Board of Trustees meeting this Friday, where they will approve tuition and fees for the next academic year. Last year at this meeting, GW became the first school in the country to exceed $50,000 in required expenses.

Current Board Chairman Russell Ramsey, Former Board Chairman Charles Manatt, and Former University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg at last year’s Board meeting. (media credit/Nick Gingold)

A possible announcement on Friday comes on the heels of Harvard and Yale drastically altering their affordability to benefit middle-class families. Last month, Knapp had this to say about the Ivy pricing:

“It’s certainly the case that the demand for financial aid rises with the cost of higher education, not just for GW but across the nation,” Knapp said in an e-mail. “I have asked my administration to develop concrete recommendations on ways of improving access.” He added that he will “announce some concrete steps in a matter of weeks.”

We will let you know Friday what, if any, big tuition and financial aid news comes out of the meeting.