Scholarship proposed for nontraditional students

Published on March 11th, 2010

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Senate President Gary Stevens has proposed allowing nontraditional students to be eligible for the governor's proposed merit scholarship program, a change that state education officials said would drive up costs unpredictably.

Through a staff member, the Kodiak Republican introduced an amendment in the Senate Education Committee to eliminate a six-year post-high school eligibility period for the scholarships.

Alaska Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux and Diane Barrans, executive director of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, told the committee that nontraditional students are outside the scope of Gov. Sean Parnell's proposal, which is primarily intended to motivate K-12 students to challenge themselves and to improve schools.

Parnell is asking for $400 million set aside from which investment earnings would provide scholarships for in-state tuition or professional training. Graduating Alaska high schoolers earning at least a C+ average and completing a rigorous course schedule would be eligible.

In committee discussion earlier, Stevens said he'd be disappointed if nontraditional students were left out.

"There is not going to be another large scholarship bill in my lifetime. There's just not," the retired professor said. "It would be a shame to leave out nontraditional students."

Barrans said that the change would drive up costs, especially when combined with a new needs-based component the administration has offered to help address concerns raised by lawmakers. Students who qualify on merit but still require financial aid would receive a chunk of that unmet need through the provision.