As families grapple with higher education costs nationwide, Lasell University has launched a new program aimed at knocking down financial barriers to higher education.

The Lasell Tuition Commitment covers tuition for Massachusetts residents who are first-time, full-time undergraduate students and come from households earning less than $100,000 a year.

The university is combining state and federal grants with Lasell scholarships to pay for the program.

“For 174 years, Lasell University has been committed to making a college education accessible to as many people as possible,” Lasell President Eric M. Turner said. “The Lasell Tuition Commitment ensures that a greater number of talented and motivated students can now pursue their dreams and graduate career ready—without a financial burden.”

Students must be enrolled full-time and must live in Massachusetts to be eligible, and eligibility must be renewed each year. And students have to remain in good academic standing and in full-time enrollment.

Room and board are not covered by this program.

There’s no special application, either. Students admitted to Lasell who have filled out their federal financial aid application (FAFSA) by the annual deadline will automatically be up for eligibility review.

Lasell University started out as a small women’s seminary in 1851 and became a two-year college in 1932. The school evolved into a four-year college in the 1980s before going co-ed in the 1990s and became a university in 2019.

Today, the school boasts 54 acres of campus, more than 1,600 students and an endowment of more than $55 million.

Lasell prides itself on the racial, ethnic and diversity of its students, and in recent years, school leaders have sought to bring economic diversity as well, with a work program (Lasell Works) and reduced tuition for remote students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview last year with the Newton Beacon, Turner—then in his first year as president—said expanding the university’s offerings for more inclusion would be a priority of his administration.