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<p class="MsoNormal">Below is a press release issued today about Oklahoma’s Promise Day at the State Capitol. We had a very successful event with about 300 people in attendance. Those speaking at the rally included:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Chancellor Glen Johnson<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Governor Mary Fallin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Lt. Governor Todd Lamb<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>State Representative Justin Wood (OKPromise recipient)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>State Senator Jason Smalley<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Willy Morales (former OKPromise recipient now employed as an aerospace engineer at Boeing in OKC)<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:double windowtext 2.25pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h1 style="background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">April 14, 2015 -
<strong><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Students, Supporters Gather at State Capitol for Oklahoma’s Promise Day</span></strong>
</span><a href="http://www.okhighered.org/news.xml"><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D076CC.AE5EF8D0" alt="RSS feed"></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For Immediate Release<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 14, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Media Contact: Angela Caddell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Office: 1-405-225-9346<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mobile: 1-405-919-5957<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><a href="mailto:acaddell@osrhe.edu" title="mailto:bhardcastle@osrhe.edu"><span style="color:windowtext">acaddell@osrhe.edu</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">More than 300 students, faculty, representatives from Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities and other supporters gathered
at the state Capitol Tuesday to show appreciation for the Legislature’s ongoing support of the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program and encourage legislators to continue to preserve the program’s funding source.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">Formerly known as the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), Oklahoma’s Promise was created in 1992 by the state
Legislature to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">“For more than 20 years, Oklahoma’s Promise has been a transformational program for the state of Oklahoma, helping more than
65,000 students achieve the dream of going to college,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “Oklahoma’s Promise continues to be recognized by many as one of America’s best college access programs, a model that combines emphases on academic preparation and financial
support for college. We want to thank Governor Fallin and the members of the Legislature for their continued support of the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">Oklahoma’s Promise pays tuition at any Oklahoma public college or university until the student receives a bachelor’s degree
or for five years, whichever comes first. It will also cover a portion of tuition at an accredited Oklahoma private institution. The scholarship does not cover the cost of fees, books, or room and board.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">To be eligible, students must apply during the eighth, ninth or 10th grade, and their family’s annual income must not exceed
$50,000 when they apply. A student’s family income also must not exceed $100,000 at the time the student goes to college.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">During the current academic year, about 18,300 students are expected to receive the scholarship in college. About 17,550
students are projected to receive the scholarship in 2015-16. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">To be eligible for the scholarship at graduation, students must achieve a minimum 2.50 GPA in 17 core courses that prepare
them for college and an overall GPA of 2.50 or better for all courses in grades nine through 12. While a minimum 2.50 GPA is required, on average, Oklahoma’s Promise graduates achieve a 3.41 high school GPA. Oklahoma’s Promise graduates also must attend class
regularly and refrain from drug and alcohol abuse and delinquent acts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">In order to receive the scholarship in college, students must be U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the United States by
the time they begin college. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">Students completing the Oklahoma’s Promise program continue to be successful academically, with high school GPAs that exceed
the state average, ACT scores that exceed those of their comparable middle- and lower-income peers, and higher-than-average freshman college GPAs.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:10.5pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">The college-going rate of Oklahoma’s Promise students exceeds the state average for high school graduates—87 percent compared
to 46 percent. They also have above-average full-time college enrollment, persistence and degree-completion rates. In addition, Oklahoma’s Promise college graduates get jobs and stay in Oklahoma after college at a higher rate than non-Oklahoma’s Promise graduates—87.1
percent compared to 85.7 percent. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#666666">For more information about Oklahoma’s Promise, visit
<a href="http://www.okpromise.org/">www.okpromise.org</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce Fair<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Associate Vice Chancellor for Scholarships and 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">Email: bfair@osrhe.edu<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: 405-225-9162<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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