LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The newly appointed president of The Ohio State University, Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda, visited the university’s Lima campus on Monday to highlight its Regional Campus Commitment program, an initiative aimed at expanding affordability and access for low- to middle-income students.
Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda traveled to Ohio State Lima to promote the program, which allows eligible students to begin their tuition-free education.
Under the program, new first-year students from families earning less than $100,000 annually can enroll at any Ohio State regional campus or the Ohio State ATI Wooster without paying tuition or mandatory fees. After starting at a regional campus, students may either remain there or transfer to the Columbus campus without penalty while maintaining their tuition-free status.
Bellamkonda was joined by Ohio State Lima Dean and Director, Dr. Margaret Young and Matt Huffman. University leaders emphasized that the program is designed to give students greater agency and flexibility in choosing their academic path.
"The best way to respect our students and families is to offer them agency and choice. The agency to go to local, great research experience and educational experience right here in Lima on this campus, but sometimes, you may want to access the kind of facilities we have in Columbus or a different major that's not offered here, and we want to make that also possible," says Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda, President, The Ohio State University.
"And what the Regional Campus Commitment now does is makes that close-to-home education affordable or tuition-free for those students who qualify. This will be transformational for families who want to increase their social mobility, who want to find new ways to study interesting things or how to contribute to meaningful ways to our local economy," says Dr. Margaret Young, Dean & Director, Ohio State Lima.
"You know, as a Lima guy, always had been, always will be, this is a very exciting day. This is the most efficient, cost-efficient way to get a great education, to get a nursing degree, to get an engineering degree," says Matt Huffman, (R) Ohio's Speaker of the House.
The initiative is set to begin in the 2026–27 academic year.
