BELOIT, WIS. (Aug. 5, 2020) – Beloit College, a Wisconsin-based liberal arts college recognized for its curricular innovations and proactive response to the COVID-19 crisis, is expanding its Beloit Action Plan to offer a ninth and tenth semester tuition-free to students who enroll full-time during the 2020-21 school year.

The initiative expands the Beloit Promise, the component of the Action Plan that recognizes the economic impact the pandemic has had on many families. The Promise offers a variety of financial support programs designed to ensure students are able to continue their education uninterrupted.

“Beloit has a history of responding to challenges in ways that are innovative and student-focused, and offering these additional semesters is an excellent example of that,” said Provost and Dean of the College Eric Boynton. “We know that this semester may look a little different due to the pandemic.

“This initiative ensures that every student can experience the many dimensions of the Beloit Education, which go far beyond the classroom. Students will continue to experience the Beloit learning environment that integrates academics and complete co- and/or extracurricular activities,” he said.

Boynton said students may take either an additional semester, which may be either in the fall or the spring, or an entire academic year. The semester or year needs to start in the academic year immediately following the students’ eighth semester.

The Beloit Action Plan, launched in April, introduced student-centered flexibility throughout the college in response to COVID-19. The plan includes Mods, which divide the semester into halves. Students will take two courses in each Mod, which will minimize disruption should a change between in-person and remote learning occur mid-semester. Beloit was the first college to revise its semester in this way.

Other aspects of the plan include the Midwest Flagship Match, in which Beloit guarantees that tuition will be the same or less than the flagship state school for students from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; the Career Channels Program that ensures students receive real-world experience during college; and an Advanced Mentoring Program, which provides a faculty advisor to students within 72 hours of the time they deposit and a cohort-based mentoring program that continues through the first two years.

Boynton said that the additional time on campus will allow students to pursue a range of opportunities. “As a result, students will receive more of Beloit’s energetic and focused college experience, designed for the real world,” he said.