States Increasing Scholarship Opportunities to Boost College Graduation Rates

With an increased need to compete globally, the need for a highly educated workforce has taken center stage in a number of states. But with the continuing issue of college affordability, states are looking at new ways to increase the number of college graduates within their borders.

In Arkansas and Ohio, recent examples of increasing college attendance are focused on efforts to expand scholarship opportunities for students. A legislatively charged task force in Arkansas recommends the state spend $95 million over the next six years to meet the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) average percentage of citizens holding a bachelor's degree. In Ohio, the state is awarding $8.5 million to colleges and nonprofit agencies with the goal of leveraging more than $90 million towards efforts to increase college participation. Details of the state plans are outlined below. 

Arkansas
A 15-member task force, created last year by the legislature, released its recommendations to increase the number of college graduates earlier this month. Making college more affordable through increased access to scholarships is at the center of the recommendations. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Arkansas ranks last nationally in both per capita income and the percentage of adults over 25 who hold bachelor's degrees. In order to reach the goal of matching the SREB average percentage by 2015, Arkansas must increase the current production of bachelor's degrees by 64 percent or 7,098 more graduates per year for the next six years, according to the report.

The task force reviewed the state's current demographics and educational practices and looked at other states for models of best practice to develop a set of eight core recommendations. While financial support for higher education was increased in the most recent legislative session, the proportion of each institution's budget funded by state funds has decreased since the 1980's, the report states.

The task force argues that too many of the scholarships offered by the state are merit-based and too few are based on financial need, which is cited as the number one reason for people leaving college. In fact, 60 percent of the scholarships are currently awarded to students without a financial need, the report finds.

The task force recommends spending $25 million to $37 million to augment need-based scholarships that will help increase the number of low income and adult students who attend and graduate from college. Other recommendations include providing $10 million to $15 million to revise the statute that created the Academic Challenge Scholarship to allow additional students to receive the scholarship, $10 million to increase the funding of state aid for student campus employment, and $1 million to provide financial incentives to encourage associate degree recipients and university juniors to obtain a bachelor's degree.

Additionally, the task force suggests the state offer a tax-credit incentive based on the Opportunity Maine model in which Arkansas students who complete bachelor degrees in high need areas and remain in the state for a specific amount of time will receive a financial incentive.

To improve education through economic development efforts, the task force recommends the state spend $15 million for 300 career coaches based on similar programs already operating in Georgia and South Carolina and $5 million to create new programs where gaps exist and phase out programs that no longer support workforce demands.

The Final Report of the Arkansas Task Force on Higher Education Remediation, Retention, and Graduation Rates, is available at: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/data/HigherEdRemediation/jpTask%20Force%20Report-LATEST%20VERSION.pdf

Ohio
Over the last several months, Gov. Ted Strickland announced a number of new initiatives aimed at improving access to higher education and helping the state reach its goal of adding 230,000 college students by 2017 (see the July 16, 2008 and Feb. 13, 2008 issues of the Digest). In March, Ohio Board of Regents chancellor Eric Fingerhut outlined a 10-year plan to upgrade post-secondary education in Ohio, which currently ranks 37th for the percentage of adults with college degrees.

An initiative unveiled in January aims to help nearly 23,000 high school and college students as well as older adults re-entering postsecondary pursuits, first generation students and veterans. The Ohio Can! Go to College Campaign is being implemented by the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) and provides $8.5 million in grants to colleges and nonprofit organizations to expand college enrollment over the next two years by leveraging $90.1 million in additional funds.

OCAN released a request for proposals in three phases beginning in March and ending in May. Grant recipients were selected based on their ability to secure additional funds or create new internship or cooperative programs. The largest grant amounts of $1 million each were awarded to the Inter-University Council of Ohio and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, who have pledged to raise $10 million and $8 million respectively.

The initiative is seen as a critical element in creating the workforce pipeline that underpins Ohio's global competitiveness and economic development, according to OCAN. The grant application process designed by OCAN incorporates two categories in which foundations, corporations, colleges and universities were invited to apply under. They include:

• Internships, co-ops and similar initiatives providing students who plan to enroll in postsecondary education and those who already attend college with valuable work experience necessary for strengthening and filling the gaps in Ohio's future workforce; and
• Last dollar scholarships and on-going retention activities that will encourage more students to enter postsecondary education students, remain in their school, or complete degree programs.

Most recipients plan to use the state money to hire fundraisers and for scholarships for poor or underrepresented students, according to an article in The Columbus Dispatch. The Ohio Can! Go to College $8.5M Utilization Plan is available at: http://www.ohiocan.org/uploads/OhioCanUtilizationPlan12-17-07.doc