Investments in Education:

Communities, regions and states take initiative to boost college enrollment

by Tom Gaston

Advantages and concerns

Because these programs encourage so many more high school graduates to attend college -- Madisonville’s goal is 66% -- many tend to come from less affluent families. This fact occasioned unexpected benefits in some cases.

Advantages of “last dollar” scholarships. The scholarships discussed here are all last-dollar funds, which become available only after all other available money has been tapped. Students are required to apply for federal Pell grants. In some cases, the institutions actually prepare applications with students assisting. Scholarships are reduced by whatever amount the government pays. “That frees up money for other students,” Haire pointed out.

The approach has also attracted a four-year university to the program.

Noting the high proportion of Pell grant recipients among the New Century Scholars, Western Carolina University decided to offer the same financial package to Southwestern Community College graduates who wanted to continue there for bachelors’ degrees. That, in effect, doubled the scholars program’s two years of funding. And as at the community college, Western Michigan University was able to offer free room and board to Kalamazoo Promise students with Pell grants.

Possible conflicts. The oldest across-the-board, locally funded scholarship program the Public Life Advocate located was that of the Clemens Foundation in Philomath, Ore. For 45 years, the foundation paid tuition for any graduate of Philomath High School who enrolled at Oregon State University.

Founded in the 1960s by timber magnates Rex and Ethel Clemens, the Clemens Foundation was publicly criticized in recent years for trying to use its tuition support to impose ultraconservative social values on the Philomath public schools and Oregon State University.
In March 2005, the foundation suspended grants for 600 Oregon State students, citing as the reason “ethical lapses” at the school. At that time, foundation spokesman Steve Lowther said that of the thousands of students supported by the $30 million foundation, only 1,200 had actually graduated.

Educators and policy analysts told the Public Life Advocate that there may always be a risk of undue influence of private institutions on cooperating public institutions. The remedy is to build in appropriate safeguards when the funds are set up, they said.

Cultural balance. The proposed Lexington First Fund was the only one of these programs that limited its scholarships to students in specific areas of study. However, concern about American’s comparative shortage of engineers and technologists is clearly behind most of the efforts to produce more college graduates.

Some educators warn of pitfalls to that approach. “Technology is essential,” said James Alexander, associate professor of elementary education at Kentucky Wesleyan College. “But society would be impoverished if you only funded science and technology.
“I think the real goal is to foster critical thinking and creativity. Even scientific thinking is fostered by the liberal arts. And there are the bigger issues of morality and ethics. Technology has an ethical component, too.”

Where things stand

Local leaders remain focused on the urgency of workforce development. Tracy Marksberry cited the recently published Annual Atlas Van Lines Corporate Relocation Survey that shows a growing number of companies listing “inadequate workforce” as the driving force behind their relocation. “In 2004, the number doubled, to 44 percent. In 2005, it rose to 51 percent.”

Of the Madisonville program, she said, “That’s very impressive, and I don’t see any reason we couldn’t do something like that here. Our community has always been very interested in education and also very generous.”

As evidence of generosity, Marksberry cited Owensboro’s “Impact 100,” a group of more than 100 women who are contributing their own money and raising more to contribute to local nonprofit charities. Their first award will be announced later this year.

The group’s goal was to raise $100,000 and “we raised $151,000 our first year,” said Martha Clark, one of the organizers. “Compare that to Cincinnati’s first-year $123,000 or Austin, Texas’s $126,000 or San Antonio’s $125,000 in their first year. Generosity? I think so!”
At the same time, local leaders know that any effort to help more students go to college will require major changes in local attitudes.
Among the goals of The Learning Community are cultivating a culture that values learning and “promoting learning opportunities for residents from all walks of life in all stages of life.”

“We will soon be talking to any group that will listen to us,” said Malcolm Bryant of The Learning Community. “We want to ask the community if they would like to brand themselves ‘The Learning Community’.” He envisions the designation on entrance signs to the city and on its official stationery.

“Futurists and demographers say the quality of life of every citizen will be tied to how much we value learning and how much we engage ourselves in learning,” Bryant said. “We want to make sure that the greater Owensboro area is on the leading edge of every quality area of learning that we can offer our citizenry.”

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