Who qualifies, who doesn't and why
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Who qualifies, who doesn't and why State scholarships |
JANE JONES is about to begin her senior year in high school. Her parents earn about $13,000 a year. Jane's grades are good, but nothing special; she ranks just barely in the top third of her graduating class. Jane is trying to decide what she will do after graduation. There are several possibilities: the local junior college, a state university, a private college in Southern Illinois. She has also been considering a public university in another state, and a profit-making secretarial school in Chicago has sent an interesting brochure.
Studying the application form from the Illinois State Scholarship Commission (ISSC), Jane finds she might qualify for up to $1,550 per year to attend the private school where tuition and fees total $3,000 per year. For the state university and the junior college, the most she can hope to receive is the total tuition and fee costs — about $700 for the university, perhaps $500 for the junior college. ISSC funds cannot be spent on other costs, such as textbooks or room and board charges.
Basis of need
Clearly, the decisions Illinois lawmakers and higher education officials
have made about the state scholarship
program will have a significant impact
on the school choice of the fictional Ms.
Jones. Decisions made in the next few
years could affect her further. And the
very existence of some schools, particularly private ones facing possible enrollment declines, could also be affected.
Actually, Jane is lucky to be living in
Illinois, which has one of the largest state
scholarship programs in the nation for
undergraduates. Illinois in 1976-77 was
third (behind New York and Pennsylvania) both in number of undergraduate
scholarships and the number of dollars
they represent. It ranks second in the
number of dollars given out per resident
of the state, according to a survey by the
National Association of State Scholarship and Grant Programs. State universities have been granting tuition waivers
for more than 100 years, but the ISSC,
the first Illinois program to grant aid to
students at private as well as public
colleges and universities, is just 20 years old. The first ISSC scholarship winners entered college in fall 1958 and had to
qualify on the basis of superior academic ability as well as financial need.
Those who showed ability but no need
were designated state scholars but
received no funds. In 1961, the legislature authorized the ISSC to use funds
left over from this program for grants to
needy sophomores, juniors and seniors
who were not of superior ability. It was
from that small beginning — just 347
students received aid that first year —
that the ISSC's need-based grant program grew. Today, the ISSC still designates about 14,000 high ability high school
seniors each year as state scholars. But
all aid in the main grant program is
given out strictly on the basis of need. In the school year which just ended, more
than 92,000 students received almost
$70 million worth of ISSC grants —
including nearly 34,000 at public universities, more than 22,000 at junior
colleges and nearly 36,000 at private
schools. Next year, the total number
of grant recipients is expected to pass
the 100,000 mark. ISSC determines financial need
through a complex formula including
such variables as the cost of attending
the chosen college, parents' income,
number of children, assets, whether
other children are in college, how close
the parents are to retirement age, etc.
There is no income level at which an
applicant is automatically disqualified,
if the many variables indicate that need exists. In addition to this need-based grant
program, the ISSC administers a handful of small programs that give out aid
automatically, regardless of need, to
students in special categories, such as
children of policemen killed in the line
of duty. The total value of these ISSC
non-need programs is only about
$500,000 per year; other non-need
student aid programs, such as veterans'
scholarships, are administered by other
agencies.
No state scholarship aid is available if
Jane chooses an out-of-state school or a
profit-making trade school, though
bank loans guaranteed by the ISSC are
available. But at least Jane doesn't have
to worry much about her grades: the
ISSC gives out money solely on the
basis of need, not academic merit. All
she has to do is be accepted at an Illinois
college or university and prove she and
her family need help to meet its costs.
Success of program
Has the ISSC program been a success? Measured by its own stated goals
— giving students access to college and
some freedom to choose among both
public and private schools — the answer
would be yes. In the commission's most
recent survey of grant recipients, taken
in 1974, more than 50 per cent of those
receiving aid said they probably would
have gone to college only part-time, or
not at all, without the ISSC's help.
Many others indicated they would have
been forced to pick a less expensive
July 1977 / Illinois Issues / 21
| school, without the aid. "I think the ISSC provides fantastic opportunities for students who are not financially able to pay for a college education," one recipient wrote. "For me personally, the ISSC has made possible my attendance at a school of better quality and has in my opinion guaranteed me a more meaningful education. For this I will be forever grateful." |
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The ISSC's programs also receive praise from most educators and other leaders. After all, who can question the idea of helping needy kids through school? But Illinois policymakers still must face a number of questions relating to the commission's programs. The question of the commission's relationship to public college and university tuition rates is particularly prominent at this time. All the state universities have approved significant tuition increases for fall 1977, and many junior colleges have also. Many opponents of tuition increases base their stand on philosophical grounds, arguing that society should provide for a free college education just as it does a free elementary education. But others argue that, philosophical positions aside, tuition should not be increased because it will prevent some persons from getting an education. The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), among others, argues that tuition increases will not affect anyone: those who can afford them will pay, others will get ISSC aid. But many refuse to believe this.
Bradford Townsend, a student at Western Illinois University and head of the IBHE student advisory committee, argues that there is no guarantee that the ISSC budget will be increased enough to cover the increased tuition costs, even though the IBHE has recommended such an increase. Last fall, Townsend pointed out, the ISSC was forced to stop accepting applications in early September instead of the announced deadline of October 1, because funds were running out. As a result, an estimated 7,000 persons who would have qualified did not receive scholarships. The ISSC has also been unable to provide funds for summer school in recent years, again because of shortages in state funds.
James Brown, executive director of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, argues that both low and middle income students are affected by tuition increases, despite the ISSC. "Somewhere, no matter what kind of arrangement you have, at the upper level of eligibility somebody's going to be caught in the crunch," Brown said. He called the ISSC "kind of a stopgap measure which, no matter how good it is, is bound to have somebody neglected at the fringes." Many low-income citizens are hurt. Brown said, because they are less likely to plan ahead for college and file the necessary aid application forms in advance.
ISSC executive director Joseph Boyd acknowledges that there may be some who are discouraged from going to college because they don't know about the ISSC's programs. But he feels their numbers are small, and declining. "I don't think you can ever perfectly say, every citizen and every student is adequately informed. That goal is something we'll have to obtain over time .... [But] fewer people each year are misinformed as to whether or not they might indeed qualify. The volumes [of applicants] would not be as high as they are unless there were people out there [school counselors] operating to point out to families of students this possibility." Boyd has less sympathy for the argument that middle income students are hurt by rising tuition. "We're living with some old stereotypes, that only four-figure income families are ever going to win. That's not been true for years, but there are still lots of publics out there who still believe it."
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The figures bear Boyd out on this
point: according to the commission's
1977 annual report, more than 80 per
cent of all applicants from families in the
$15,000 to $16,000 income range received ISSC aid to attend public colleges and universities during the 1976-77
school year. Even students from families
making more than $20,000 received aid
to attend public universities — 9,613 in
1976-77. Even more private school
students received aid.
Boyd also discounts fears that the General Assembly will not provide the extra funds to meet increased tuition costs at public schools. Though the ISSC lacks money for some programs, such as summer school, funds to cover additional tuition costs have always been provided each time state college tutions have gone up. |
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Increase in tuition
Other issues also face the ISSC and
the state. For one thing, large categories
of students are still excluded from the
program. Five years ago, an IBHE
commission recommended extending
ISSC programs to students at for-profit
trade schools, graduate and professional students, and part-time students.
As yet, only part-time students have
been added to the program. Improvements in federal aid programs since 1972
have lessened the need for further ISSC
extension, but there is still pressure to
add other students to the program. "These are very important public
policies," Boyd said. "I don't think the
ISSC alone can deal with these. They
are for the board of higher education, 22 / July 1977 / Illinois Issues
With critics and proponents of tuition
increases in so much disagreement, who
is right? The best answer seems to be
that the ISSC will do a pretty good job
taking care of most students who need
aid. But those whose personal situations
do not fall into the ISSC's formula may
be forced to take out large loans or
forego college altogether. For example,
some parents can afford to pay for their
children's education, but refuse to do so,
Other potential students may give up on
the idea of college altogether when they
see how high tuition rates are at state universities.
the governor, the General Assembly. We have neither the autonomy, nor should we stand alone, in making these decisions." Boyd feels that if expansion of the ISSC program is to come, adding for-profit schools is the change with the greatest possibility for enactment. Federal scholarship programs are already open to students at profit-making schools, and an increasing number of states have also opened their programs to these schools.
A number of states allow scholarship recipients to use their funds in out-of-state schools, though Boyd sees little interest in the notion here. "One could argue, 'Why should the tax dollar that is coming from our taxpayers so motivate kids to leave in great numbers, who may never return to the state?'" he said. Calls for the extension of ISSC aid to graduate and professional students were renewed this year when the IBHE proposed, and universities agreed, to begin charging those students a higher tuition rate than undergraduates. But, Boyd said, most graduate college administrators oppose the idea, arguing that graduate financial aid should be based on merit rather than need.
Another ISSC expansion that is being pushed by some students would allow scholarship funds to go toward expenses other than tuition and fees. This idea also was endorsed by the 1972 IBHE commission, but has not gone very far since then. Boyd said the ISSC is studying the idea, but cautioned that whatever move is made in this direction, the ISSC must continue to allow what he calls "reasonable choice" between public and private schools.
Competing for students
Of course, all programs to extend the
ISSC's authority would cost tax dollars,
and these are in short supply in Springfield. But some changes in scholarship
policy might even save money, though
they would involve elimination of
politically popular programs. The state
eliminated many of its tuition waiver
programs in the early 1970s, including
the massive giveaway of tuition waivers
to state university students who declared their intention to become teachers. But other waiver programs continue. Each General Assembly member, for example, can give away two four-year waivers each year to anyone he
wishes. Veterans, children of prisoners
of war. National Guardsmen and others
also are given scholarships whether
or not they need them.
Private colleges and universities are
always at a disadvantage in competing
for students, since their costs are so
much higher. Current ISSC policy, by
Providing only tuition and fee aid, helps
reduce this disadvantage and thus
increase private school enrollment. The
Private schools' disadvantage is reduced
because ISSC recipients can receive up to $1,550 in aid if they go to a private
school, but only about half that amount if they go to a public school, where top
tuition and fee charges are only about
$850. If aid beyond tuition and fees is
instituted, some mechanism to maintain
the private schools' ability to compete for students will have to be devised, Boyd said.
Changes under debate
Many of the continuing questions
about the state student aid program are
evidence that the state's philosophy on
student aid is still in a transitional stage: ISSC aid has gradually become available to more and more students, and at
the same time, some older tuition waiver
programs not based on need have been
phased out. The question of whether the
state wishes to take the final step toward
a system based entirely on need, and open to all, still remains. As leaders ponder the remaining
questions on state scholarship policy, it
might be well for them to remember the
words of the 1970 state Constitution: "A
fundamental goal of the People of the
State is the educational development of
all persons to the limits of their capacities." A student aid system open to as
many groups as possible may be the best
way, short of an unfeasible system of
free tuition for all, to accomplish this.
Boyd feels that non-need based
programs should be eliminated, with
funding provided to the ISSC to take
care of those who need aid. "I know the
politicians would be mad at me to say
this, but I call these [programs] emotional responses," he said. "This is a very
hot issue, both in terms of the local and
the national scene. If I could wave a
magic wand, I would do it and say they
no longer exist." Others argue that some
of the non-need programs, such as those
for veterans, are a fringe benefit for
services rendered to the country and
should not be eliminated.
July 1977 / Illinois Issues / 23
