PCC responds to recent newspaper article

Everyone can gain from program

By Rachelle Howell
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Pima Community College

The Arizona Daily Star recently published a story describing a financial-incentive pilot program to be implemented by Pima Community College beginning in the spring 2010 semester. I am writing to address any misconceptions about the program that may have arisen, and to put the program in perspective.

The program is not fully funded beyond the pilot and is still in a planning phase. If fully funded, the program would become part of a larger national study of performance-based scholarships being conducted at community colleges and universities. Groups being studied come from all ethnic and racial backgrounds and range from Ohio community college students who are parents and receive public assistance, to freshmen at the University of New Mexico.

The overarching goal is to examine if performance-based scholarships provided in addition to federal and state needs-based aid can improve the persistence and academic achievement for low-income students, giving Americans the best value for their tax dollars.

The organization that approached the College regarding the pilot program is MDRC, a New York-based non-partisan, non-profit research organization dedicated to improving programs and policies that affect the poor. MDRC’s research findings have been used by policymakers across the political spectrum.

As stated above, the program is in the early stages of planning and development, with 50 students involved in the spring. Funding would come from private foundations. No taxpayer dollars, from residents of Pima County or Arizona, are being allotted to the program.

In the case of the pilot program, the group being studied happens to be Hispanic males. Historically, low-income Hispanic males enroll and graduate from higher-education institutions less often than other groups.

It is not surprising that MDRC approached Pima Community College to participate in the program. PCC reflects the demographics of Pima County, with an enrollment that is about 31 percent Hispanic.

The program is not meant to reward a particular ethnic group and is not a giveaway. Like numerous existing academic-aid programs, it rewards performance. In the pilot program, participants receive only $150 when they enroll in classes. They continue to earn money only by meeting the program’s criteria for success. If they have stayed in school through the middle of the semester and have availed themselves of PCC support services such as tutoring, they get another $150.

Only those students who maintain a 2.0 grade-point average while taking a full-time course load of 12 or more units and who have used PCC support services throughout the semester will receive the additional $1,200 reward. Students who do not meet the grade-point and other requirements get no additional money.

The back-loading of financial incentives is not unique; many higher-education scholarships are structured in this sensible way. Further, many existing scholarship programs are targeted at specific groups, such as the sons and daughters of military veterans.

Programs of this type provide objective information that ultimately lead to a better educated citizenry, and better use of tax dollars. Everyone has plenty to gain.

Posted: September 28, 2009