After adopting a bitterly contested plan a few years ago to charge students tuition for the first time in a century, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art announced Thursday that it hoped to make the college tuition-free again for all undergraduates in 10 years.

Under a plan approved by the board of trustees late Wednesday, Cooper Union would begin increasing tuition scholarships in two years, and aim to provide full tuition in 10. The additional outlay would be offset by unspecified cuts in expenses, more fund-raising and “other revenue increases necessary,” the college said in a statement.

“If we exceed the financial targets in any given year, we may be able to accelerate the plan; if we don’t meet the targets for any number of reasons, such as an economic downturn, we have built-in guardrails that allow us to slow the plan if necessary,” said Laura Sparks, Cooper Union’s president, who took office in January 2017.

The decision comes at a time when affordability has become an increasingly urgent issue in higher education, for both private and public institutions. The Excelsior Scholarship, rolled out by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last year, offers free tuition to middle-class students at the State University of New York and the City University of New York.