News-Miner opinion: In recent years, the University of Alaska has put renewed focus on the goal of moving students more expeditiously toward the completion of degrees or certificates. For a variety of reasons, the institution's graduation rate has long lagged behind the national average, prompting administrators to launch completion programs such as "Stay on Track" and "Finish in Four." Those efforts have had varying degrees of success at campuses throughout the University of Alaska system, and it's not yet certain what needs to be done to bring Alaska's rate up to par with the national average. What won't help, however, is the approach championed by Rep. Tammie Wilson in her recent bill to force students to repay state scholarships and grants should they not graduate in six years or fewer. Put simply, Rep. Wilson's bill would damage not only the university but also the state of Alaska and its residents.
Rep. Wilson's bill, House Bill 264, is a simple one. It would require Alaska students who receive the Alaska Performance Scholarship or Alaska Education Grant to repay the amount of their scholarship or grant if they do not complete their degree or certificate within six years. Rep. Wilson states in her sponsor statement for the bill, "an opportunity has been given to a student by the State of Alaska to help offset educational costs; however, with this opportunity comes an obligation of completing the qualified degree and/or certification."
Put that way, Rep. Wilson's intent seems reasonable. But even a cursory look at the impact the bill would have shows it would be a disaster in practice.
As representatives of the university and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education explained to the House Education Committee at the bill's first hearing, the state already has substantial incentives and requirements for those receiving the scholarships and grants. The scholarships, for instance, require students to maintain satisfactory academic progress and take a set number of credits per semester to continue receiving aid. That aid already expires after six years if students haven't completed their degree. Forcing repayment of scholarships and grants effectively turns them into loans.
University students who haven't completed a degree typically aren't flush with cash to repay thousands of dollars in new debt.
In all likelihood, those forced into repayment of the state scholarships and grants would be forced to drop out of school to find full-time employment to repay them — or they would default and enter personal bankruptcy. Both outcomes would harm students, the university and the state alike, with graduation rates further depressed by the dropouts and the state trying to collect thousands of dollars from residents with poor prospects to absorb such a financial hit. Those no longer able to afford college and unable to find employment without a degree would enter the public assistance rolls, driving up unemployment and requiring further state support.
The bill's passage would also likely scare some lower-income students away from applying for scholarships or grants, according to ACPE Executive Director Diane Barrans. That would mean lower enrollment rates, further harming higher education in Alaska.
The bill also makes no provision for students whose education is interrupted because of health or family issues. A student diagnosed with cancer in his or her junior year and forced to abandon college studies for treatment would face the unhappy prospect of repaying the state for scholarships on top of medical bills and other expenses if he or she couldn't return to school in time to finish a degree.
While the goal of achieving higher graduation rates is a noble one, it's also one toward which the University of Alaska Fairbanks has made substantial progress in recent years. As of 2014, the campus' six-year graduation rate was 42 percent, up more than 10 percent since efforts to up graduation numbers began several years ago.
Rep. Wilson's HB 264 is ill-considered and would jeopardize the university's progress toward better graduation rates. It would be a significant disincentive to pursuing higher education for many of the state's residents most in need of aid. It's a wrongheaded approach to improving the University of Alaska and should be dismissed by the Legislature.
Source: Scholarship repayment bill unsound: Forcing students to pay back tuition aid would harm university, state
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