University of Oregon senior Craig Loper didn’t know if he’d be able to afford his college tuition.  A letter from the UO sent prior to his freshman year would solve his dilemma. He and his mother sat down and opened it together and she immediately began to cry.

In the letter, Loper was notified that he was eligible to become a part of the UO’s PathwayOregon program, in which all members are offered and guaranteed tuition and fees covered for all four years of their college experience. He was accepted and is now graduating, along with hundreds of other Oregon students who were accepted into the program, this spring. Loper is graduating college almost debt free —  although he will have to pay for courses he took during summer terms. They are not included in the program.

The cost of higher education is a problem for many students, especially with talk of a 6 percent tuition increase and student debt on the rise. The PathwayOregon program’s goals consist of increasing graduation rates and decreasing the reliance on student loans.

“Once we got accepted into Pathway, everything changed,” Loper said. Oregon became his number one choice for college, and with good reason. “I wasn’t going to pass up a free education. It was already a tough time financially, and receiving this just took a lot of weight off my mom’s shoulders.”

PathwayOregon aims to serve Oregon residents who are eligible for the Pell Grant, incoming freshmen and those who graduated from an Oregon high school. The program began in 2008 and promises to cover tuition and fees. Students must complete 12 terms within five years, allowing for up to three terms off. Not every student graduates debt-free, as the program does not cover housing or book expenses.

Carla Bowers, director of the PathwayOregon Program, says that Pathway students work closely with advisers who act as a resource to help students get access to whatever they may need — whether that be mapping out a grad plan or tutoring services.

“I like to say that we are the right place to start if you don’t know where to go because we’ll help you with where to go next,” Bowers said.

The first class graduating under the program was in 2012, which successfully met its goal of increasing graduation rates of lower-income residents whose previous graduation rates in the state of Oregon were less than 25 percent. The first group of PathwayOregon graduates achieved a 43.4 percent four-year graduation rate, a significant increase in comparison to 2011, a year in which there were no Pathway graduates.

Bowers says that money does make it easier for people to take advantage of opportunities that a specific community may have to offer, but it is people partnering with students and helping them understand what their choices and options are is what makes the program special.

“I didn’t know what to expect, so to be able to have tools at your disposal, being able to work with and talk to throughout the process has been really helpful for me,” Loper said.

Loper is graduating in the spring of 2013 with a journalism degree and plans to take eight more credits in the summer to finish up. He currently freelances for Fox Sports and plans to pursue work with them after graduation.