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Printer-Friendly ModeMichigan Promise scholarships still up for debate; students unsure what to think
August 31, 2009 —
As students prepare to hit the books this fall, they might find reality hitting another one even harder — the bankbook.
About 1,400 SVSU students await word on the fate of Michigan Promise, a scholarship fund of more than $140 million. The Michigan Senate passed a proposal June 23 to eliminate the scholarship, with the state’s deepening budget deficits estimated at $1.8 billion.
Michigan Promise offers up to $4,000 in financial aid to students who score well on the Michigan Merit Exam.
Cutting the program would affect some 96,000 students statewide. The proposal has yet to be voted on or signaled by the House or Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
In the meantime, SVSU students’ award letters have defined the scholarship as “pending” financial aid.
At SVSU, officials aren’t sure what to say. “We have no way of knowing what is going to ultimately transpire with the state budget at this point,” said J.J. Boehm, the University’s director of media relations.
But about 70 percent of SVSU students planning to use this scholarship qualify for other types of financial aid, including grants and student loans, according to Robert Maurovich, vice president of Student Services and Enrollment Management.
“I don’t want to minimize what $4,000 is,” Maurovich added, “butit’s important that 70 percent of these students have alternative funding.”
But some students say a promise is a promise. “I think it’s ridiculous,” said business sophomore Stacey Skorupski.
“I’m sure that many kids went to college because of the Michigan Promise scholarship, and it should not be taken away.”
Opponents to the scholarships’ cutting argue that Michigan would be limiting its students’ success, which they say provides hope for the state’s financial future.
Many students say they are enraged about the cuts. “I earned that money, and it was part of my financial planning,” biology junior Jessalyn Gross said. “If they take it away, that’s $4,000 I’m going to have to pay out of pocket.”
But Maurovich says that less than half of incoming freshmen are expecting this bonus.
Some students say the scholarship is not important. “When you’re paying $10,000 to go to school, 500 bucks a semester doesn’t really matter that much,” chemistry junior Jake Pederson said. “I think they’re just better off cutting it completely.”
State Budget Director Robert Emerson and Granholm will write a new budget by Oct. 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year. The budget will then be sent to a joint meeting of the House and Senate, where its provisions — including the status of the Michigan Promise — will be approved or revised.
Maurovich said students can expect to learn the outcome soon after the new budget is announced.