Expanded scholarship could help thousands of local students

VIDEO NEWS RELEASE

Alejandra Ramirez, Hawai‘i Promise recipient and first-generation college student

Alejandra Ramirez graduated from Baldwin High School in 2017.

Link to video and sound (details below): https://bit.ly/384DtKe

WHAT: Proposal to expand the Hawai‘i Promise program, which gives need based scholarships to students who qualify for resident tuition at the University of Hawaiʻi’s seven community colleges, to UH’s three, four-year campuses.

WHO:  The Hawai‘i Promise scholarship program has benefited thousands of UH Community College students and would help more than 5,000 qualified students if expanded, making higher education more accessible to those who would benefit from it the most

WHERE:  Four-year campuses are at Mānoa, Hilo and West O‘ahu

HOW:  UH has a legislative budget request to expand the Hawaiʻi Promise program to qualified students attending four-year campuses at Mānoa, Hilo and West Oʻahu at an annual cost of $17.7 million.

WHY:  Many of the higher paying jobs in Hawai‘i require a bachelor’s degree, and on average, a bachelor’s degree holder earns a million dollars more over their lifetime than someone with a high school degree. In addition, those with college degrees are healthier, less likely to be incarcerated at public expense, draw on fewer social services, vote more, volunteer more and are less likely to become unemployed during a recession.

Results from Hawai‘i Promise are extremely positive:

·       Less student loan debt:  Hawai‘i Promise awardees took out student loans at about the same rate as non-awardees (16 percent vs. 17 percent).  However, for those who took out loans, Hawai‘i Promise recipients borrowed 14 percent less than their peers: $4,972 vs. $5,679 (average loan).  

·       More credits earned:  In 2018-19, more Hawai‘i Promise recipients attempted and earned more credits than non-Hawai‘i Promise awardees. 

·       Better grades:  Hawai‘i Promise recipients had higher passing rates than their peers, and they earned higher grades than their peers. In each term since Hawai‘i Promise began, scholarship recipients have earned a 3.0 grade point average or better.

·       Higher persistence and completion rates:  Hawai‘i Promise recipients were more likely to continue their education than peers who did not receive Hawai‘i Promise scholarships. Of new students who enrolled in a UH community college and received a Hawai‘i Promise scholarship in fall 2018 and who have not yet graduated, 67 percent continued to be enrolled in fall 2019 compared with 58 percent of their peers who did not receive a Hawai‘i Promise scholarship.

OTHER FACTS:

• In 2017, the legislature began appropriating $1,829,000 on an annual basis to the UH Community Colleges to create a scholarship program for students with financial need, who qualify for resident tuition, called the Hawaiʻi Promise program. 
• This program assists approximately 1,400 community college students statewide annually by providing the “last dollar” they need to cover the direct costs of their education.
• The current 2-year program provides last-dollar support for all direct costs, which include tuition, fees, transportation and textbooks.  
• The proposed 4-year program will be available only to Pell-eligible students and will only cover tuition and fees.

ALEJANDRA RAMIREZ:

Alejandra Ramirez, was able to earn two associate’s degrees from UH Maui College by December 2019, with the assistance of a Hawai‘i Promise scholarship. The 2017 Baldwin High School graduate is the first in her family to go to college.

However, after earning associate’s degrees in liberal arts and public administration in 2019, the aspiring lawyer’s educational journey came to a halt. After enrolling and registering, she found out there was nothing like Hawai‘i Promise at UH West O‘ahu, where she intended to pursue a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

She is taking one class at UH Maui College this spring, in order to maintain her internship with the Maui prosecutor’s office. She is hoping the Hawai‘i Promise scholarship will be extended to the four-year campuses, so she can continue along her educational path.

VIDEO:

BROLL: (1 minute 57 seconds)

0:00-0:04 - UH Maui College sign

0:04-0:10 - UH Maui College campus

0:10-1:01, 9 clips - Alejandra in the classroom at UH Maui College

1:01-1:17, 2 clips - Alejandra walking

1:17-1:38, 3 clips - Alejandra at home working on computer

1:38-1:44, photo of Alejandra in front of the courthouse

1:44-1:56, 2 photos - Alejandra at Baldwin High School graduation

SOUND: 

Alejandra Ramirez, UH Maui College student (:07))

“I think they should support Hawai‘i Promise, because it really changes the lives of people.”

Ramirez - (:21)

“A huge difference.  Like I’m a first gen college student so I didn’t know what to expect or what to do when going to college. Textbooks and school supplies and all that kind of stuff it was just all new to me and getting that scholarship really helped me because like I didn’t know if I could even afford going to college.”