Lawmakers wise to invest in future through new scholarship program
Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:44 AM PDT
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Washington’s College Bound Scholarship was among the more far-reaching accomplishments of the 2007 Legislature. The program offers scholarships equal to the tuition at state four-year universities to seventh- and eighth-graders from low-income families who sign a pledge to stay in school and stay out of trouble.
Apparently, Washington lawmakers view the new scholarship program as an accomplishment worth building on. They recently expanded it to allow eligible students in the ninth grade to sign up. That expansion should add significantly to the some 16,000 students in the state who took the pledge during the program’s first year.
This is an initiative that has the potential to make a big difference in a lot of young lives. It encourages low-income students to aim high by communicating to them and their families that college is a realistic option, regardless of economic circumstances. It’s a promise that, ideally, ought to be extended to every qualified high school graduate — particularly now, when a college degree is so important to finding a good-paying job. But that’s unlikely. Tuition continues to rise faster than the rate of inflation and financial aid isn’t keeping up.
One action the Legislature could take to help contain college costs in the long-term is adopt a recommendation put forward by the state Higher Education Coordinating Board in 2000. The board urged lawmakers to help keep public higher education more affordable by linking changes in tuition at colleges and universities in the state to the rate of change in state per capita income. Per capita income, of course, is a key indicator of the ability of Washingtonians to pay college tuition costs, in both good and bad economic times.
In any event, lawmakers are to be commended for establishing this College Bound Scholarship program and moving this summer to allow ninth-graders to enlist, along with seventh- and eighth-graders. Washington currently ranks 32nd nationally in the percentage of students from low-income families who go to college. We expect that ranking will improve in years ahead. A similar scholarship program in Indiana moved that state from 40th to ninth in the percentage of low-income students who went on to college.
The state’s investment in this human capital brings a high return. Any number of studies confirm the obvious. College-educated citizens tend to hold higher-paying jobs, pay more taxes, spend more money and are less likely to require public assistance. Anything the state can do to make a higher education more accessible to more citizens is a plus for the economy.
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