Controversy Over Cooper Union Tuition

The Cooper Union Board of Trustees recently voted to end Cooper Union's universal free scholarship program in 2014. The school's small size and selective admissions process allowed the tuition-free program to endure for 150 years.

Students will continue to receive an automatic scholarship and financial aid and admissions will be "need-blind" according to the school.

The decision, which will only begin affecting freshmen entering Cooper Union in 2014, leaves a bitter taste for many who see the institution of higher learning merging with a more "business" mindset.

The board of trustees assured the public it had evaluated a number of other options, but remaining tuition-free is simply no longer a sustainable practice for the institution.