UU announces Opportunity Scholarship

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Urbana University, a branch campus of Franklin University, announced its new Opportunity Scholarship. Aimed at helping local communities achieve their education and economic goals, the Opportunity Scholarship creates a partnership with 42 high schools from 18 Ohio counties to address the needs of families most often ignored by conventional financial aid and grant opportunities.

New for the 2019-20 academic year, the Opportunity Scholarship was created to help address the high school to college workforce gap and financial needs, strengthen curricular pathways with partners and offer enrichment programs and summer camps that support college readiness. An Opportunity Scholarship offers up to $10,000 a year for graduates of Urbana University’s 42 partner schools in the region.

According to federal statistics, students and families in the income bands just above the Pell Grant cutoff ($50,000 – $100,000) face an amount of unmet need – the difference between what a college costs and what a student can afford to pay – of $10,000 a year, nearly as much as the lowest income families in the United States.

Ohio faces a substantial shortage of working-age adults (ages 25-64) with postsecondary-level credentials required to fill and succeed in current and future jobs.

“Higher education sits in the venerable position of being able to address workforce gaps,” said Dr. Christopher Washington, executive vice president of Urbana University. “While we have the curriculum and expertise to develop students, we must first identify new and innovative ways to address the financial needs that provide access to an education – for all income levels. Our Opportunity Scholarship provides this access for an often forgotten middle band of income.”

To maintain eligibility for the scholarship, Opportunity Scholars must enroll full time each fall and spring semester and maintain at least a 2.75 Urbana University Cumulative GPA and remain in good academic standing. The goal of the Opportunity Scholarship is to provide more than just financial access. Through their access and acceptance to the program, recipients will be exposed to a number of skill and character-building activities through the scholarship’s mandated completion of a minimum of one sanctioned and documented activity in the following categories each year of enrollment:

Create: an academically focused contribution to the campus community

Engage: a co-curricular focused contribution to the campus community

Inspire: a service focused contribution to our campus or local community

Give Back: serve as a mentor (senior year only) for incoming Opportunity Scholars, optimally from their high school of graduation

Opportunity Scholarships will be renewed automatically up to eight terms (or up to $40,000 over the course of a student’s four years at Urbana University) or the completion of a bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first.

Still in infancy, initial feedback has been positive. With a November kick-off event planned to formally launch the Opportunity Scholarship, one local superintendent, Kirk Koennecke of Graham Local Schools, has showed such enthusiasm over the program that he announced plans to introduce the Opportunity Scholarship at an event at his school today.

Dr. Christopher Washington announced the launch of the Scholarship of Opportunity at the UU College of Education Partner Luncheon.
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2018/10/web1_UU.jpgDr. Christopher Washington announced the launch of the Scholarship of Opportunity at the UU College of Education Partner Luncheon. Submitted photo
Addresses needs of families above Pell Grant cutoff

Submitted story

Submitted by Urbana University.

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