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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">FYI - The following article ran in the Saturday, May 20, edition of the Daily Oklahoman. Please note the one correction in the article about the year that the second adjustment to the family income limit
to $60,000 becomes effective. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The article is available online at
<a href="http://newsok.com/oklahomas-promise-scholarship-expanded-under-new-law/article/5549890">
http://newsok.com/oklahomas-promise-scholarship-expanded-under-new-law/article/5549890</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt">Oklahoma's Promise scholarship expanded under new law<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Kathryn McNutt by Kathryn McNutt • Published: May 20, 2017 12:00 AM CDT • Updated: May 20, 2017 12:00 AM CDT
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">More students can enroll in Oklahoma's Promise under a new law that increases the family income limit for eligibility and expands the tuition scholarship to include more CareerTech programs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Gov. Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 529 this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"It's very good news for families. It's very good news for students, and it's outstanding news for the state of Oklahoma," said Natalie Shirley, secretary of education and workforce development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"This is all part of the governor's effort to increase postsecondary degrees and credentials," Shirley said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The scholarship pays the tuition for Oklahoma students who attend a public college or university in state if they meet income and academic requirements and stay out of trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Since 2000, a family's annual income could be no more than $50,000 when the student enrolls in the program.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The new limit will be $55,000 beginning in 2017-18 and $60,000 beginning in
<s>2019-20</s><u> 2021-22</u> <i>[correction by Bryce Fair</i>]. It could mean 1,000 more students will earn college degrees, said Sen. Jason Smalley, R-Stroud, who authored the bill with Rep. Katie Henke, R-Tulsa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Higher education Chancellor Glen Johnson thanked the governor for signing the bill and thanked Smalley and Henke for advocating for the program.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Recognized by many as one of the best college access programs in the nation, Oklahoma's Promise has helped more than 75,000 Oklahomans achieve the dream of a college education," Johnson said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"College graduates who received the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship secure jobs and stay in Oklahoma after college at a higher rate than their peers. This honors the state's investment in Oklahoma's Promise
as we produce the educated workforce our state needs to compete in today's global economy," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The governor's latest workforce initiative — Launch Oklahoma — calls for producing nearly 600,000 more workers with a college degree or credential in eight years to address the growing gap between the skills
workers have and the skills they need to fill jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The goal is for 70 percent of Oklahomans ages 25-64 to have postsecondary education and training by 2025, up from 40 percent now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Expanding the reach of Oklahoma's Promise will help, Shirley said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The revised program not only increases the family income limit, but lets students use the scholarship for any CareerTech program that qualifies for federal financial aid, she said. Previously only programs
that were in a cooperative alliance with a college qualified.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We cannot meet the needs of Oklahoma businesses if we don't make pathways for Oklahomans to get a postsecondary degree or credential," Shirley said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce Fair<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Associate Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">P.O. Box 108850<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oklahoma City, OK 73101-8850<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: 405-225-9162<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Email: <a href="mailto:bfair@osrhe.edu">bfair@osrhe.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fax: 405-225-9230<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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