Tuition-assistance proposal modeled after Garrett County, Md. program

Two years ago, when Dr. Mitesh Kothari and local attorney Jeanne Singer became co-chairs of the Greater Hagerstown Committee’s Education Forum, they decided they wanted to tackle a meaningful project.

So they brainstormed with forum members, who are representatives from local educational institutions, and gathered data to devise an annual educational report card for the community. The issue that came to the forefront, they said, was the low percentage of people with post-secondary education among Washington County residents.

Last winter, Singer said, the forum turned its attention to a major barrier to post-secondary education — cost.

As a result, the Greater Hagerstown Committee — a civic organization whose mission is to identify community needs so its members can use their expertise as a “catalyst for consensus and change” — recently proposed the idea of a tuition-assistance program for Washington County high school graduates, including those from public and private schools and home-schooled students.

The proposal is to guarantee funding for the equivalent of a two-year associate degree based on the tuition cost at Hagerstown Community College, although the funds could be used for other academic, technical and vocational educational institutions in Washington County, Greater Hagerstown Committee Executive Director James Kercheval said.

The committee shared the idea with the public at its Sept. 28 meeting, inviting the Washington County Commissioners, school board members and state lawmakers who represent the county.

The tuition-assistance proposal is modeled after a program in Garrett County, Md., which is funded through the Garrett County government and has experienced success, Greater Hagerstown officials said.

The proposed Washington County program is not meant to “happen tomorrow,” but the idea was to give the Washington County Board of Commissioners a chance to learn about it, get comfortable with it and see if there is county support, including financial support, for the idea, Kercheval said.

The $2.2 million the committee listed as the amount to fund the program is a conservative estimate based on every student in the public school system’s recent graduating class getting a county scholarship, something the committee co-chairs said they wouldn’t expect to happen.

Even so, “We don’t think the county’s going to have to come up with the whole amount,” said Kothari, who noted the project “may be a public-private partnership.” 

Making a living

For many years now, common wisdom held that the minimum amount of education needed to compete and to attain the American Dream was 12 years, but that doesn’t hold true in today’s knowledge-based global economy, Kercheval said.

In studying local educational data, one fact stood out to Education Forum officials: Only 18.7 percent of Washington County residents age 25 or older had at least a bachelor’s degree, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year estimates.

In Maryland, that places Washington County 19th out of 23 counties and Baltimore City, according to the forum’s 2012 College & Career Readiness Report Card.

That’s not to say everyone needs a four-year degree to earn a better living, Kercheval said. Two years of technical or academic learning after high school can provide better job opportunities, he said.

A September report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce states, “Most postsecondary education and training discussions focus on the baccalaureate pathway, but there has been an increasing interest in so-called ‘middle jobs.’ These are jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a Bachelor’s degree, and secure middle-class earnings.”

The national report notes that, on average, men with high school diplomas earn $41,000 and women earn $28,000. But when an occupational associate degree is obtained, the average annual income for men is $49,000 and for women is $35,000.

The Education Forum’s report card includes a section that shows the cost of a one-bedroom apartment with utilities; a cellphone; basic cable TV; a used car; health insurance for one person; and a meager lifestyle, would cost $650 per week or $33,800 per year in Maryland.

That’s more than the $638-per-week average wage of a high school graduate, and less than the $768-per-week average wage with an associate degree, according to the report card.

Washington County’s average wage in 2010 was $36,504 per year, or $702 per week, according to the report card that cited information from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.


Garrett County’s program

In the mid-2000s, Garrett County Economic Development Director Jim Hinebaugh suggested a tuition-assistance program because the county needed more of its residents to have a skill base and not enough people were taking advantage of the community college, Garrett County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt said.

It took about a year to get the funding, with the Garrett County Scholarship Program starting in the fall of 2006, Pagenhardt said.

At first, the program was for a more traditional academic postsecondary education, but it now is in its second year of also offering scholarships for high school graduates seeking more education for trades and technical jobs, Pagenhardt said.

Hinebaugh, who retired Sept. 28, heard from local businesspeople that they could not find skilled, trained machinists, welders and other tradespeople, Pagenhardt said. So the county, with the assistance of federal, state and grant funds, bought and converted an industrial park building into a career, trade and technology center that is operated by Garrett College, a community college, Pagenhardt said.

Because the Garrett County Scholarship Program requires participates to apply for federal student aid such as Pell Grants, and for Maryland financial aid programs, many scholarship program applicants end up getting enough financial assistance from other sources that they don’t need to use money from the county scholarship program, said Kalie Ashby, institutional research analyst for Garrett College.

According to a March report on the scholarship program, the amount of other financial aid received by students who were eligible for, but ended up not needing, money from the program was $499,605 for the 2010-11 academic year.

Pagenhardt said Garrett County budgeted $450,000 in fiscal years 2012 and 2013 for the program. The actual, audited cost of the program in recent years was $411,548 in fiscal 2009, $430,310 in fiscal 2010 and $358,534 in fiscal 2011.

The amount is reapproved every year through the budget process, Pagenhardt said.

“I don’t see any reason why it would be discontinued,” he said.

For the 2010 fall semester, 156 new college enrollees were eligible to receive county scholarships and 90 students received county scholarships, according to the March report. For the fall 2011 semester, 189 new enrollees were eligible for county scholarships and 123 students received county scholarships.

From the 2010 fall semester to the 2011 fall semester, the retention rate for Garrett College students who received county scholarships was 56 percent compared to 44 percent for all Garrett College students, the report states.


Washington County proposal

The proposed Washington County scholarship conditions are more flexible than Garrett County’s program, Kercheval said.

The Greater Hagerstown Committee’s Education Forum proposes allowing the scholarships to be available not just for Hagerstown Community College, but also for use at other educational institutions in Washington County such as Kaplan University, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, Barr Academy and Award Beauty School, according to a copy of the proposal’s general conditions.

High school graduates must apply for federal and Maryland financial-aid programs, but all of those schools might not be eligible for those financial-aid funds, Kothari said.

The program proposed for Washington County would be flexible in that participants would have three years from the time they enter the scholarship program to complete their degrees or certificate programs, Kercheval said. That gives people who need to work while furthering their educations some flexibility in how many courses they take per semester, he said.

The scholarship could be used only for courses needed in the student’s program of focus, and would not apply to unrelated or elective classes, Kercheval said.

Prospective students would have up to a year after graduating from high school to enter the program, Kercheval said. So if a graduate gets a job after high school and then realizes more education is needed, he or she still would be eligible for the scholarship and could enter a postsecondary program in the spring semester, he said.

The proposed program also would be open to dual-enrolled students who earn both high school and college course credit.

Participants would need to maintain at least a 2.0 grade-point average.

A residency requirement in the proposal states the high school graduate must have lived in Washington County for at least two years before graduation.

The residency requirement is included to prevent someone from putting up a fake address or renting an apartment for three months to take advantage of the scholarship program, Kercheval said.

The Education Forum suggested general conditions for the program, although county officials might want to make changes, Greater Hagerstown officials said.

HCC President Guy Altieri, via an email from HCC spokeswoman Beth Stull, said he was interested in and supportive of the tuition-assistance proposal. Altieri was in the midst of an accreditation visit regarding HCC’s nursing program Wednesday and was unavailable for a phone interview.

In terms of how such a program would affect HCC, Altieri said it depends on the programs of study students select.

“As students complete general education classes, we will be able to accommodate an increase in the number of students; however, if a significant number of students chose the nursing program, for example, it would be more difficult to accommodate with the resources we currently have. As I said, these are some of the details that will need to be addressed as this proposal moves forward,” Altieri said in the email.


Estimating the cost

The $2.2 million cost estimate Education Forum officials came up with for the program was based on providing $1,400 per student multiplied by 1,552, the number of public school graduates in Washington County in 2011.

Several assumptions were made in arriving at the $2.2 million estimate, Singer said. She said that amount is probably more than would be needed, but forum officials wanted to provide the worst-case scenario rather than have to go back later to ask for more money.

Kercheval said he thinks the $2.2 million estimate is “not a bad guess” because of the unknowns regarding factors such as the future funding level for Pell Grants. Should the federal government cut Pell Grant funding, there would be a greater need for local scholarships, he said.

The $1,400-per-student figure in the local calculation was determined by starting with $1,143 — the total cost of the Garrett County Scholarship Program — divided by the number of high school graduates, regardless of whether those graduates received a county scholarship, Kercheval said.

Because the wealth factor, or income level, in Washington County is a little higher than in Garrett County, 20 percent, or $229, was added to the $1,143, Kercheval said. That figure, $1,372, was rounded up to $1,400, he said.

Because of Washington County’s higher average income, local graduates might not qualify for as much federal and state financial aid as would Garrett County students, Kercheval said.

The average scholarship award in Garrett County has increased each year, from $806 for the 2006-07 academic year to $1,081 for the 2010-11 academic year, according to the Garrett County March report.

The cap proposed for an individual’s scholarship in Washington County is the cost of tuition and basic fees for attending HCC full time for two years, Kercheval said.

Another assumption was the use of the number of students in Washington County’s 2011 public school graduating class.

The scholarship program would be open not only to public school graduates, but to private school graduates and home-schooled students.

Not every graduate in the county would need a county scholarship, however.

Some graduates will not pursue a postsecondary education and others will further their education or enter the military without need of a county scholarship, Greater Hagerstown officials said.

The requirement for county scholarship applicants to first apply for federal and state financial aid could result in those funds covering full postsecondary financial needs for many applicants, officials said.

Garrett County Scholarship Program officials thought that more county residents applied to Garrett College than in the past once the scholarship program started because it removed a financial barrier and allowed more students to start thinking about going to college, Kercheval said.


The commissioners and education

The next step is for the Washington County Commissioners to learn about and consider the proposed tuition-assistance program, Kercheval said.

After seeing the Sept. 28 presentation, County Commissioner Ruth Anne Callaham said she thought the proposal had “great merit.”

But the commissioners generally prefer programs that help people help themselves, she said after that presentation. Callaham said she’d rather see a program in which the county provides part of the amount if organizers can come up with other scholarship support.

Callaham, the only commissioner to attend the Sept. 28 presentation, said last week she still felt that way.

Callaham said she plans to attend the Education Forum’s meetings if the times work out.

Commissioner John Barr said he hadn’t seen much about the proposal, but was open to the idea.

“I would definitely be interested to look further into it,” said Barr, who noted he is involved with postsecondary education through the Barr Academy and trade skills training.

“Without a doubt, our worldwide competitors are really trumping us,” said Barr, who visited China three years ago with Kaplan University. “There’s no doubt that to compete, a high school education is not enough.”

“Education’s the key to quality standards of living in our community,” Barr said.

As far as the $2.2 million estimated cost, Barr said the commissioners will need to look at that.

“We’re squeezing our dollars from every direction,” Barr said.

Commissioner William McKinley said “any idea like that is certainly worth looking into.”

“It really takes a lot of background work and a lot of questions need to be answered,” McKinley said.

If all the commissioners’ questions are answered, budget adjustments would be needed because the county does not have that kind of money lying around, he said.

McKinley said he was glad to hear the proposal was not limited to Hagerstown Community College, but would be available for other types of training.

He said he often hears local businesspeople say they could use employees with one or two years of postsecondary education who have learned a skill, can do it well and are reliable, he said.

He also liked the requirement that applicants apply for other financial aid.

“I’m one commissioner that is certainly willing to examine the idea,” McKinley said.

Commissioner Jeffrey A. Cline said he’d heard a little about the program, but wanted to refrain from commenting extensively until Greater Hagerstown officials presented the idea to the commissioners, either one on one or as a group.

“In theory, it sounds great. But how do you pay for it?” Cline said.

Cline said he wanted to remain open to the idea and not provide a predetermined yes or no regarding the proposal.

Commissioners President Terry Baker said Wednesday he hadn’t seen anything about the proposed tuition-assistance program and didn’t want to comment until after the Greater Hagerstown Committee presents the information to the commissioners.

Kothari said he’s hoping to schedule a presentation for the commissioners soon.


Figuring the benefits

A county scholarship program would benefit more than the participating students, Kercheval said.

County residents with better educations have better jobs and income opportunities, which can translate into increased homeownership, which helps home sales and home construction, Kercheval said.

It also means greater revenue for the county in the form of income and property taxes.

The scholarship program could be a “different carrot” to entice people to live in Washington County, Kercheval said.

The difference in annual wages for a high school graduate versus a person with an associate degree in Maryland is almost $7,000, according to information in the Education Forum’s report card.

If the graduates stay in Washington County, that increase in salary is money spent locally, Kercheval said.

People who earn more money also are more likely to have health benefits and are less likely to use agencies such as the Department of Social Services for assistance, Kercheval said.

On the economic development side, a better educated population could help recruit businesses, particularly high-tech businesses, to Washington County, Kercheval said.

Pagenhardt, Garrett County’s county administrator, said he didn’t know if the Garrett County Scholarship Program had drawn new companies to the county, but it did help at least two companies that needed skilled tradespeople such as machinists.

Kercheval said Garrett County’s location in far Western Maryland makes it a little harder for that county to attract high-tech companies than it would Washington County.

Washington County is closer to central Maryland, where many high-tech companies are clustered, he said. In the past decade, those types of companies have migrated to neighboring Frederick County, so Washington County is the next step, he said.

Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said a tuition-assistance program could be a “powerful motivator.”

For some youths, going to college or a career/technical school is never on their radar, Wilcox said.

Those young people could become encouraged to advance their education when they see more of their friends doing so and it becomes an expectation for them as well, Wilcox said.

That’s not necessarily a bad form of peer pressure when the more education a person has correlates with income and the ability to access the American Dream, Wilcox said.

“Like it or not, in America today, if you don’t have access to (financial) resources, you really struggle,” Wilcox said.