CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Massachusetts Institute of Technology undergraduates whose families earn less than $75,000 a year will not pay tuition or be expected to take out loans beginning next academic year.

The plan approved Friday is the latest move by elite U.S. universities to cut costs for middle class families. It is expected to cover about 30 percent of MIT’s 4,000 undergraduates.

MIT will no longer consider home equity when assessing financial need for families earning less than $100,000.

Students who have work-study jobs as part of their aid will work fewer hours.

The university is increasing its financial aid budget by $7 million to $74 million a year.

Tuition and fees will go up next year by 4 percent to $36,390. MIT said about 60 percent of undergraduates get some financial aid, meaning their net tuition is about $8,100.