[Oasfaa] OHLAP article

[Fair, Bryce]

FYI - Article in today's Daily Oklahoman about the proposed legislation to increase the OHLAP-OK Promise income limit to $75,000.  You will see I have one editing correction shown in brackets [ ] below.
Bryce Fair


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Tuition assistance increase debated 

April 3, 2006
By Jennifer Mock
Capitol Bureau

Nineteen-year-old Raquel Carranco of Oklahoma City is the first in her family to go to college. The oldest of three children, Carranco dreams of becoming a doctor and helping children with disabilities. 

However, college wasn't an option until she heard about the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, which allows students with good grades and behavior to get free, in-state tuition if their parents' gross annual income is $50,000 or less. 

Senate Democrats hope to expand the program to more students like Carranco. However, critics say the move could put the state in an economic bind if the economy takes a downturn. 

The program was set up in the early 1990s to give low income students a chance to go to college. The goal was to increase the number of college graduates and, eventually, personal income in the state. The program pays only for tuition. Room and board, books and student fees are not included. 

About 55 percent of high school students now financially qualify for the program. 

A Senate bill passed recently would increase the income limit to $75,000 a year, meaning about 75 percent of students would be eligible for the program. 

"There are so many pluses to this program," said Rep. Terry Ingmire, R-Stillwater. "Yes, there are some costs involved, but what is the cost of keeping kids in school and out of trouble?" 

The program is set to cost about $36 million next year, and an estimated $110 million by 2010 [this year should actually be 2015 rather than 2010 - Bryce] . 

If Senate Bill 1993 - which raises the income level to $75,000 - becomes law, the program would cost an additional $10 million by 2010, and as much as $66 million more by 2015. 

Although the immediate financial impact will be minimal for the state, many lawmakers do not like the idea of binding future Legislatures with climbing program costs. 

Rep. Randy Terrill, who calls himself one of program's biggest supporters, says the program needs to be properly funded before an expansion is considered. Terrill said $4.6 million in supplemental funding was needed for the program this fiscal year. 

Terrill, R-Moore, is offering House Bill 2087, which would dip into excess oil and natural gas tax revenue to supplement what the state appropriates. 

The bill also would expand the program to home school students who meet certain criteria at a cost of about $100,000 more a year, Terrill estimates. 

Program is popular 

Students and parents are more actively involved in education when they know tuition is on the line, supporters say. 

State Higher Education Chancellor Paul Risser agrees, saying learning access program students tend to have higher grade-point averages and are more likely to go to college than their peers not in the program. 

About 12,000 students are enrolled in the program, Risser said, up from about 9,100 last school year. 

"This is not just a financial aid program," he said. "OHLAP helps students get prepared for college, stay there and graduate." 

Risser is concerned that broadening the program to families with higher incomes will be giving tuition to students who probably would have gone to college anyway. Instead, he said he thinks the program should continue sending students to college who financially would not be able to go without the state assistance. 

He did say, however, upper middle-class families - such as those who make $75,000 a year - typically cannot qualify for grants and other scholarships designated for lower income students and therefore might need the money for college just as much. 

Terrill believes a task force should reform the program before the Legislature takes any action. Some changes he would like to consider include an income sliding scale depending on how many children a family has in college, and extending grade and behavior requirements into college. 

Some lawmakers also would like the program to require recipients to remain in Oklahoma a certain number of years before they leave. 

"Right now, the state is picking up the tab, and the student is then picking up and hitting the road. That is not prudent," said Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow. "There comes a time we need to quit playing the taxpayer for a fool." 

The House has until April 20 to hear SB 1993. If it passes the House Appropriations Committee, it will go to the full House for consideration. 

HB 2087, by Terrill, is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

Payment offers security 

Carranco, now a pre-med sophomore at Oklahoma City Community College, said her family couldn't afford to send her to college. 

She said the program allows her to focus on making grades instead of working several jobs to pay bills. 

"I knew this program was my way to go to college," she said. "Knowing that I had a way to pay for college made me a lot more enthusiastic about going." 

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Bryce Fair 
Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants 
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 
Phone:  (405) 225-9162 
Fax:  (405) 225-9230 
E-mail:  bfair at osrhe.edu 

Mailing Address: 
P.O. Box 108850 
Oklahoma City, OK  73101-8850 

Street Address: 
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 
Oklahoma City, OK  73104