Higher education incentives aim to keep university students attracting high school students
The institutions all say the programs have helped students enter and stay in college.
Jeff Robinson, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said the federal government has given many schools emergency higher education assistance funds, for which they can develop their own spending plans.
About half of the funds received were used to benefit students, Robinson said, including the creation of scholarships, debt relief and other situations.
He noted that schools across the country, not just in Ohio, were offering student debt relief, including a school in Texas that has paid off some of its student debt.
Edison State spokesman Bruce McKenzie said the additional incentives were helping students in Preble, Darke, Miami and Shelby counties attend college after high school. He noted that nearly 6% more high school students in the region had attended university upon leaving high school.
“Students saw the value of the tuition waiver program in that they could stay close to home and attend a high quality higher education institution at minimal cost,” McKenzie said. .
McKenzie said Edison State also exceeded expectations, giving the college a 9% increase in enrollment and an 11% increase in credit hours between the fall 2020 semester and fall 2021.
He noted that the waiver came from Edison State’s own funds and was paid because more students were able to attend the college. The program was not funded by federal COVID-19 dollars, he said.
Sinclair also offered high school students incentives to attend college right out of high school, especially 24 Dayton Public School students with at least a 2.0 GPA and at least 90% of presence throughout their final year.
Each student is eligible to receive up to $ 1,000 which will be split between the fall term 2021 and the spring term 2022, said Cathy Petersen, spokesperson for Sinclair.
Additionally, Sinclair expanded its child care program after receiving feedback from students about their difficulties finding child care, made possible by a recent grant from the US Department of Education, Petersen said.