{"id":110672,"date":"2020-02-09T05:30:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T15:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=110672"},"modified":"2020-08-07T13:38:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T23:38:50","slug":"hawaii-promise-expansion-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/02\/09\/hawaii-promise-expansion-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanded scholarship could help thousands of local students"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_32201\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MxujDhCdW_k?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Expanded scholarship could help thousands of local students\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>The University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is asking the legislature for funding to expand a successful scholarship program for students with demonstrated financial need to <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr>&#8216;s three, four-year campuses.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2018\/06\/01\/new-law-expands-hawaii-promise-scholarships\/\">Legislature began appropriating $1.8 million<\/a> on an annual basis to the <a href=\"http:\/\/uhcc.hawaii.edu\/\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community Colleges<\/a> to create a scholarship program for students who qualify for resident tuition with financial need called the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/tag\/hawaii-promise\/\"><span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise program<\/a>. This program assists approximately 1,400 community college students statewide annually by providing the &ldquo;last dollar&rdquo; they need to cover the direct costs of their education.<\/p>\n<p>Results from <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise are extremely positive:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Less student loan debt:<\/strong>  <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise awardees took out student loans at about the same rate as non-awardees (16 percent vs. 17 percent).  However, for those who took out loans, <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise recipients borrowed 14 percent less than their peers:  $4,972 vs. $5,679 (average loan).<\/li>\n<li><strong>More credits earned:<\/strong>  In 2018&#8211;19, more <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise recipients attempted and earned more credits than non-<span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise awardees.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better grades:<\/strong>  <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise recipients had higher passing rates than their peers, and they earned higher grades than their peers. In each term since <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise began, scholarship recipients have earned a 3.0 grade point average or better.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Higher persistence and completion rates:<\/strong>  <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise recipients were more likely to continue their education than peers who did not receive <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarships. Of new students who enrolled in a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> community college and received a <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarship in fall 2018 and who who have not yet graduated, 67 percent continued to be enrolled in fall 2019 compared with 58 percent of their peers who did not receive a <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Alejandra\u2019s story<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_110709\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-110709\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/system-hawaii-promise-testimony-2-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"Alejandra Ramirez\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-110709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/system-hawaii-promise-testimony-2-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/system-hawaii-promise-testimony-2-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/system-hawaii-promise-testimony-2.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-110709\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alejandra Ramirez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One beneficiary was <a href=\"http:\/\/maui.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Maui College<\/a>\u2019s <strong>Alejandra Ramirez<\/strong>, a 2017 Baldwin High school graduate, and the only child of two immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It made a huge difference,&rdquo; said Ramirez. &ldquo;I\u2019m a first generation college student so I didn\u2019t know what to expect or what to do when going to college.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After earning associate\u2019s degrees in liberal arts and public administration, the aspiring lawyer\u2019s educational journey came to a halt. She found out there was nothing like <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> West <span aria-label=\"Oahu,\">O&#699;ahu,<\/span> where she was planning to pursue a degree in criminal justice.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was like my whole life was just put on pause,&rdquo; recalled Ramirez. &ldquo;I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen next. I was just 100 percent sure, &lsquo;Okay, I&#8217;m going to go to West <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> and pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree.&rsquo; but then when I realized the cost of it, I was just shocked. I didn\u2019t know what to do. I was just stuck.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Student voices:<\/strong> <a href=\" https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/02\/09\/hawaii-promise-testimonies\/\">&lsquo;Dreams do come true&rsquo; What <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students say about <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise<\/a>, February 9, 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Proposed expansion<\/h2>\n<p>Ramirez\u2019s solution may be a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> proposal to expand <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise to qualified students attending <abbr>UH<\/abbr>\u2019s four-year campuses at M&#257;noa, Hilo and West <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> at a cost of $17.7 million. It would serve more than 5,000 students like Ramirez, who qualify for financial assistance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They should support <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise, because it really changes the lives of people,&rdquo; Ramirez said.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the higher paying jobs in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> require a <span aria-label=\"bachelors\">bachelor&#699;s<\/span> degree, and on average, a bachelor&#8217;s degree holder earns $1 million more throughout their lifetime than someone with a high school degree. In addition, those with college degrees are healthier, less likely to be incarcerated at public expense, draw on fewer social services, vote more, volunteer more and are less likely to become unemployed during a recession.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez is hoping other <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise beneficiaries will add their voices in support of the expansion.<\/p>\n<p>She said, &ldquo;I think it&#8217;s really important for people [to] submit testimony and also give their story and make it clear how this scholarship really helped them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Kelli Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_110683\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-110683\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/maui-hawaii-promise-ramirez-2.jpg\" alt=\"family at graduation\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-110683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/maui-hawaii-promise-ramirez-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/maui-hawaii-promise-ramirez-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/maui-hawaii-promise-ramirez-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-110683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alejandra Ramirez graduated from Baldwin High School in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Maui College student Alejandra Ramirez supports expansion of the <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarship to four-year campuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,12],"tags":[678,1216,572,71,14,9,60,947,59,56],"class_list":["post-110672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-video","tag-financial-aid","tag-hawaii-promise","tag-scholarship","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110672"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124594,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110672\/revisions\/124594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}