February 24: University of the Virgin Islands becomes first 4-year HBCU to go tuition-free

The University of the Virgin Islands is the only HBCU to sit outside of the contiguous United States, and now it is the only four-year HBCU to offer free tuition to students.

Last month, the board of trustees approved a set of policies and procedures that would allow th university to participate in the Virgin Islands Higher Education Scholarship Program, which grants free tuition to postsecondary institutions for residents of the Virgin Islands.

Founded in 1962, UVI is a public, co-ed, land-grant HBCU which has two campuses: one on St. Thomas, and one on St. Croix. Students from across the United States are eligible to participate in a semester or year-long domestic exchange to UVI through the National Student Exchange with tuition paid by the student’s home campus.