Tagged: William Peace University

If you live anywhere near a college campus and don’t have a compelling reason to attend the half-dozen or so graduations going on in the Triangle and Triad, this might be a good weekend to get out of town. Tens of thousands of family and friends are set to descend on Durham, Raleigh, and Greensboro for commencement events throughout the weekend.

Colleges and universities across the state are looking at raising tuition. But one university in Raleigh is going against the grain. William Peace University has announced in a letter to students it's lowering tuition around 7.73 percent. That brings tuition to $23,700 for the 2012-2013 school year. Debra Townsley is the university president.

One of Raleigh's oldest colleges is making some major changes. Peace College will change its name to William Peace University and admit men for the first time.

The changes are being made to strengthen a college that has taken its lumps of late. Earlier this year, Peace eliminated its music department and laid off a number of faculty members.

The decision to admit men is the latest and most significant change in the school's recent history. In the 1970s the school became a junior college and in the 1990s it awarded its first four-year degree.