The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Board of Trustees Friday approved granting reduced tuition for graduates of Florida high schools who are admitted to Embry-Riddle. The move marks the university’s 50th year in Volusia County and 90-year history.
“As the world’s largest and oldest institute focusing on aviation and aerospace – we are global, but it is a priority to provide access to a quality education for qualified students in our own community,” said Embry-Riddle Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. Mori Hosseini. “It’s not just about giving back, it’s about investing in our local talent and keeping them here in our state to continue solidifying Florida as an aerospace industry leader.”
Effective August 2016, a 5 percent reduced tuition rate will be applied to new students who have graduated from high school and have been accepted at the Daytona Beach Campus.
Tuition at Embry-Riddle this year is $33,318. With room, board and books, the cost rises to $45,100, according to the university’s estimates. The 5 percent break, a saving of $1,600, applies only to tuition.
This falls in line with the nonprofit university’s other recent programs aimed at building and retaining a qualified, highly-skilled workforce on a local and state level.
Entering its second year, the Florida Scholars program provides affordable access to Embry-Riddle for more than 320 of the state’s brightest students with degrees for in-demand careers in Engineering (Civil, Computer, Electrical, Software), Astronomy & Astrophysics, Space Physics, Business Administration and more. Sixty-four of these students are from Volusia County. Since inception in Fall 2014 the university has awarded nearly $6.5 million in scholarships as part of the program.
Embry-Riddle’s Gaetz Aerospace Institute offers college courses and credits focusing in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at no cost to Florida high school students. Since its official launch in 2004, this concurrent enrollment program has grown considerably from a single academy to nearly 70 participating high schools with up to 20 courses in seven disciplines including unmanned aircraft systems and robotics, computer programming, engineering, flight physiology, computing in aviation and meteorology.
The tuition break announcement parallels the university’s unveiling of a design for a 50,000-square-foot Advanced Aerodynamics Laboratory to be built at its Research Park next year. The lab will include, among other things, a thermal and energy lab, an advanced dynamics and control center, a robotics and autonomous systems facility, and a radar and communications lab.
The 90-acre Research Park includes offices, labs and hangar space with direct taxiway access to Daytona Beach International Airport.
“Developing new strategic partnerships and evolving existing relationships with leading companies is a top priority for Embry-Riddle, marked by our expanding research mission and global activities,” said Embry-Riddle Interim President Dr. John R. Watret. “The park provides the opportunity for an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach between industry and academia, generating applied solutions to real-world problems, new products and ultimately high-paying jobs.”
