No tuition payment is planned during the program. Approved costs would be recorded in your account.
Financials · How it works
How can it be free? Honestly — it isn’t.
The plan is for your management work to create value intended to offset tuition, fees, and room & board. Here are the numbers, and the terms, with nothing hidden. These figures describe a proposed model, not a current offer.
The numbers, honestly
16-month program total$16,000Per month$1,000Tuition + fees, off-campus (proposed)
16-month program total$40,000Per month$2,500With room & board (proposed)
Plus a proposed refundable $1,000 deposit — one-time, not monthly, not yet collected, returned at the end.
Program totals multiply the proposed monthly figures across the planned 16-month program.
Where the money doesn’t go
Why $1,000 a month is possible.
Cut from the budget
- Costly accreditation
- An expensive campus
- A multi-million-dollar presidential cabinet
- Full-time faculty until it makes sense
Counted on instead
- Students manage the school
Running the school is part of the program, so most of the payroll a conventional college carries never enters the cost base.
This describes the cost structure of a proposed model, not a promise of outcomes.
Your expense account
Follow the balance, not a promise.
Directional illustration, not a dollar forecast. Down means costs remain to be offset. Up means conditional credits are reducing them.
The dashed line is a $0 balance.Falling means costs are still to be offset.Rising means credits are working against them.Hover, focus, or click a point for the terms.
StartYour expense account opensStarting balance: $0 ProposedCosts book as you goProposed cost: $1,000 or $2,500 per month The lower figure is off-campus. The higher figure includes room and board.
ConditionalBusiness contributions beginCredit: variable partner profit shares Value created at pledge partners is intended to reduce the balance. No amount is guaranteed.
ConditionalFinal quarter: you found a companyPotential credit: future company profits If the company remains with TCS, future profits could continue working against the balance.
IntendedYou complete the programIntended balance: $0 The model aims for business and donor contributions to clear the account. That outcome is not guaranteed.
RiskYou leave earlyAmount due: remaining balance Under the proposed terms, the uncleared balance would become payable within about 90 days.
RiskYour founded company closesExposure: uncleared balance The case would be reviewed individually, but you could remain responsible for the balance.
01 · Your expense account opens. No tuition payment is planned during the program. Approved costs would be recorded in your account.
02 · Costs book as you go. The lower figure is off-campus. The higher figure includes room and board.
03 · Business contributions begin. Value created at pledge partners is intended to reduce the balance. No amount is guaranteed.
04 · Final quarter: you found a company. If the company remains with TCS, future profits could continue working against the balance.
05 · You complete the program. The model aims for business and donor contributions to clear the account. That outcome is not guaranteed.
06 · You leave early. Under the proposed terms, the uncleared balance would become payable within about 90 days.
07 · Your founded company closes. The case would be reviewed individually, but you could remain responsible for the balance.
The terms
Four questions, answered plainly.
How can TCS be free?
It isn’t — your management work at pledge partners creates value. To become a pledge partner, they need to commit to provide 50% of their profit share attributed to the owner of the pledge to the school for scholarships or pay-outs to you directly. This is what we will apply against your tuition, fees, and room & board. These are projections, not guarantees or income promises; you may still owe a balance.
Under the proposed model, a refundable $1,000 deposit would be requested at enrollment (credited to your expense account and returned at the end) to confirm your commitment. No deposit is being collected now; this would take effect only if and when TCS is approved to operate.
We plan to run as lean as possible: no costly accreditation, no expensive campus, no multi-million-dollar presidential cabinet, no full-time faculty until it makes sense — and students would manage the school. The value is in the experience, not an accreditation label.
Do I pay and get reimbursed?
No. Under the proposed model there would be no tuition, fee, or room-and-board payments during the program other than any profit-payout you may directly receive from the pledge-partner companies. We would book your expenses and the businesses’ contributions to your expense account.
If you leave your founded business with TCS for future students, its profits could help clear any remaining balance — and if it keeps operating, any profit it returns to TCS could be credited toward your account. No income, profit, or payout is promised or guaranteed.
What if I drop out early?
We want you to anchor into the workforce — if you find work you love, pursue it. But the investment won’t pay off and we would have to recruit a replacement, which is costly.
Under the model we plan to offer, leaving before you finish would mean the balance on your account becomes due, payable within about 90 days of leaving. These are illustrative terms for a program still in development and pending state approval — nothing here is a binding agreement or an offer to enroll.
What if my founded company goes bankrupt?
If your expenses were already cleared by earlier profits, you simply stop receiving payouts. If you still owe a balance, we review your case individually, and you’d ultimately be liable.
If TCS is approved to operate and donor funds are raised, we plan to seek donor coverage so no student in a first cohort carries this balance. That is a proposed commitment, not a guarantee, and it is contingent on both conditions being met.
Under the proposed model, tuition + fees would run about $1,000/month off-campus, or about $2,500/month with room & board. The intent is for the value you create to offset these costs, but that outcome is not guaranteed and you may owe a balance. (Read the drop-out terms above.)
The planned first cohort
Finish the planned programand it’s designed to cost you nothing out of pocket.
Our aim is to secure donor support so a first cohort would pay nothing out of pocket, and afterward the value you create is meant to offset your costs. If a company you help found succeeds, students may share in its results over time. None of this is promised or guaranteed; it depends on donor funding, how the businesses perform, and state approval TCS has not yet received.
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