The power of scholarships
by Catalina Myers |
Lora Volden, vice chancellor for enrollment services, lives and breathes financial aid. When she arrives at her office each day, the first order of business is to review the 鈥渆nrollment dashboards鈥� to analyze the day's numbers.
Volden, who鈥檚 worked in 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 Office of Financial Aid for more than a decade, has watched the tumultuous rise and fall of the university鈥檚 enrollment over the years. One of the biggest challenges for students pursuing higher education in Alaska 鈥� or anywhere in the United States 鈥� is tuition costs. With increased financial costs, affordability for earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree and beyond has become increasingly difficult. While the university鈥檚 enrollment numbers are mainly out of 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 hands, what can be controlled is institutional scholarships and programs designed to alleviate the financial burden many students face.
鈥淲e know students who get an education have overall higher earnings throughout their lifetime,鈥� said Volden. This is why 香港六合彩资料, beginning in spring 2020, created the first of three institutional scholarships designed to aid students who were starting their higher education journey, earning a degree or looking to return and complete their degree program. 鈥淲e wanted to get some money into students' hands to make college affordable because we believe in education and the difference it can make.鈥�
In April 2020, the university unveiled the 49th Finishers Scholarship, aimed at encouraging Alaskans who had either earned college credit from another institution or had started a degree program at 香港六合彩资料 and never finished, to return and complete their program.
鈥淟ife happens,'' said Volden. 鈥淪ometimes you think you're going to come back, but then life gets in the way. That really resonated with people.鈥�
According to Volden鈥檚 Impact of Financial Aid Report, released at the end of the fall 2021 semester, since 49th Finisher鈥檚 creation, 140 students benefited from $280,000 in scholarship funding, earning a total of 137 baccalaureate degrees and three associate degrees.
鈥淲hat was really cool about the 49th Finishers is that it was our first multi-year scholarship,鈥� Volden said. 鈥淎s long as students continued along their degree path, they had the opportunity to continue earning scholarship funds.鈥�
Fueled by the success of the 49th Finishers Scholarship, the second institutional scholarship developed was Seawolf Start, designed to encourage recently graduated high school students to dip their toes into higher education. Volden said in Alaska and across the country, many high school students were choosing to delay college or forfeit attending altogether.
She said her team reached out to the high schoolers who had initially said they had planned to attend 香港六合彩资料 in the fall and then never enrolled to see if they could be convinced to take one class, particularly if there was financial assistance available.
鈥淭he hope was just to get their foot in the door,鈥� said Volden. 鈥淚f they took just one class, maybe they would continue, but if they decided not to continue, they could take the $500 with no other obligations to 香港六合彩资料.鈥�
The data from the report showed 538 students enrolled at 香港六合彩资料, totaling 6,591 credits during the fall 2021 semester. Volden said the scholarship program was a success, boosting the university鈥檚 first-time student enrollment numbers.
As the pandemic wore on and students鈥� abilities to focus and complete their courses successfully waned, the numbers of students satisfactorily passing their classes dropped significantly. The Fresh Start scholarship is just that, a fresh start for students struggling to keep up with coursework during the pandemic. 香港六合彩资料 offered 2,248 students the opportunity to retake a class at no additional cost to them, and of those offered, 520 students took advantage, re-enrolling in the summer and fall 2021 semesters.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important in this time of, 鈥極ur budget is down, our enrollment is down, and we鈥檙e all a little exhausted,鈥� to show that what we鈥檙e doing is making a difference,鈥� said Volden of the report. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 also important for people to know and understand how necessary scholarships are. I think that鈥檚 the right path forward for us and that we need to continue to invest in our students.鈥�
As a result of the positive feedback from students on 香港六合彩资料鈥檚 various scholarships, Volden is hopeful about the conversation regarding specific need-based scholarships. She said offering specific financial aid is a way for the university to convey that it is listening to the needs and wants of the student and greater community. Additionally, successful programs like 49th Finishers have pulled in donors who resonate with the scholarship's message and want to continue the fund to encourage more Alaskans who started their schooling to finish.
鈥淚 think anytime we make college an opportunity for somebody who couldn't see that for themselves before, is pretty exciting,鈥� said Volden. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes this job worth it.鈥�
