From calexander at osrhe.edu Fri Dec 5 08:41:35 2008 From: calexander at osrhe.edu (Alexander, Carol) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 08:41:35 -0600 Subject: [OKPromise-k12-counselors] FW: Recommendations of the Task Force on Oklahoma's Promise Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C1225418@postman2.osrhe.edu> As many of you may recall, the 2008 Legislature created a Task Force on Oklahoma's Promise to review the family income requirements and the college award-retention requirements of the program. Yesterday, the recommendations of the Task Force were submitted to the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President Pro Tempore. A copy of the report is attached. The Task Force made four important recommendations that are detailed in the report, including: (1) expanding participation in the program with a new family income limit that would adjust for family size and inflation; (2) delaying and possibly reconsidering the second income limit that is scheduled to go into effect in 2010; (3) basing college award-retention requirements on institution academic requirements rather than a statutory GPA requirement scheduled to go into effect in 2010; and (4) possibly considering some type of post-college state residency requirement for Oklahoma's Promise students. Please see the attached report for more information. The proposed changes to Oklahoma's Promise recommended by the Task Force are all subject to approval by the Oklahoma Legislature and the Governor. The next legislative session begins in February, 2009, and will end in May. We will try to keep you apprised of any developments regarding the recommendations. Also below is the text of a related article from the Associated Press that was posted on the Daily Oklahoman website this afternoon. If you have any questions, please contact the Oklahoma's Promise office at 405-225-9152 or okpromise at osrhe.edu. Bryce Fair ================================================= Oklahoma Regents Eye Expansion of Scholarship Program By The Associated Press Published: December 4, 2008 Oklahoma students whose families earn more than $50,000 could qualify for Oklahoma's Promise scholarship program under a recommendation presented Thursday to the state regents. The Task Force on Oklahoma's Promise recommends adjusting the family income limit when students apply for the scholarship so that adjusted gross income minus the amount for exemptions equals $50,000 or less. Another recommendation would automatically adjust for family size so that larger families would be allowed to have higher incomes. For example, a married couple with four children could earn $70,400 in adjusted gross income and still qualify for the program under the proposal. Bryce Fair, who oversees Oklahoma's Promise for the state regents, said the change would allow participation of more middle-income families that likely don't qualify for need-based financial aid. "This proposal would bring in a lot of those families," Fair said. The current family income level, established in 2000, is $50,000, and Fair said the changes would adjust for inflation and provide more fairness to larger families. All the changes would have to be approved by the Oklahoma Legislature, but Chancellor Glen Johnson said he's optimistic the recommendations would be well received, since four legislators served on the task force. Fair said the projected cost difference to the state would not be realized until 2012, with an $8 million impact, increasing incrementally to about $43 million in 2019. Students who participate in Oklahoma's promise must maintain at least a 2.5 grade-point average in a 17-unit core curriculum, attend school regularly and stay out of trouble. Students also must enroll in the program by the 10th grade. The number of students completing the requirements for participation has increased steadily each year to its current level of 6,530 students. ================================================= 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/okpromise-k12-counselors/attachments/20081205/962f5269/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 12-03-08-Final Report.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 782588 bytes Desc: 12-03-08-Final Report.pdf Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/okpromise-k12-counselors/attachments/20081205/962f5269/attachment-0001.obj From calexander at osrhe.edu Thu Dec 18 11:15:14 2008 From: calexander at osrhe.edu (Alexander, Carol) Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:15:14 -0600 Subject: [OKPromise-k12-counselors] Eight Oklahoma High Schools Named Scholarship Champs (State Regents News Release) Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C12254A1@postman2.osrhe.edu> NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release December 17, 2008 Media Contact: Ben Hardcastle Office: 1.405.225.9346 Cell: 1.405.640.9672 bhardcastle at osrhe.edu Eight Oklahoma High Schools Named Scholarship Champs The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recently named eight Oklahoma high schools "Oklahoma's Promise 2008 State Champions" for leading the state in the number of graduates earning a state scholarship that offers free college tuition... View entire release online at http://www.okhighered.org/news-center/okpromise-champs2008.html. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/okpromise-k12-counselors/attachments/20081218/92510677/attachment.html