University of Baltimore to offer free final semester - Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun

The University of Baltimore will offer free tuition to college students in their final semester if they can finish their degrees in four years, the school announced Tuesday. The unusual break could boost the college's flagging graduation rates and reduce student debt loads. Dubbed "Finish4Free," the deal is to be offered to this fall's freshmen when they reach their senior year, school officials said. They were unsure how much it would cost the university. In-state students now pay about $3,300 in tuition each semester; out-of-state students pay $9,000. The university's undergraduate program, which began admitting freshmen in 2007 as it converted from a transfer school for juniors and seniors to a full, four-year college, has struggled to graduate its students on time. The current four-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time freshmen is 8 percent, second-lowest in the University System of Maryland. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-ub-free-tuition-20140318,0,5391184.story#ixzz2wWMLhnIn