Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to provide a $4,000 scholarship to Michigan college students moved forward today after an approval by the Michigan House Appropriations Committee.
The plan, which was a highlighted part of Granholm's economic campaign during the election, would replace the current Michigan Merit Award Scholarship. The plan could be put into place for use by students graduating from high school in 2007. The bill passed in the Senate last August.
Marianne Williamson, a senior at Salem High School of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, is one of these graduating students. Williamson plans to join her older sister at MSU in the fall of 2007, she said.
"Any way to help my parents save money would be helpful to them because I have a lot of sisters," Williamson said. "I think it will be better than the old plan, too, because it's more money."
The current program provides a $2,500 scholarship, payable over two years for students who passed the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests.
The new plan would pay $4,000 to all incoming Michigan college or trade school students who pass the exams, providing $1,000 at the beginning of each of the first two years.
The remaining $2,000 would be paid upon completion of the second year, as long as a 2.5 grade-point average is maintained. Students who don't pass the exams can still receive $4,000 after completing two years of college or trade school.
Stephen DesJardins, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Education, conducted research on different types of financial aid packages. The way Granholm has set up her new plan could be effective, he said.
"It makes sense to put funding on the first two years to lift financial constraints. It might encourage students to experiment, meaning attend, college," DesJardins said. "And it makes sense to put money on the end as an incentive, as well."
But whether or not the plan will be effective depends on how it applies to students who spread out their credit loads and attend school for longer than a four-year period, DesJardins said.
"(How effective the bill is) depends on if there is a time limit," DesJardins said. "I'm assuming the goal is not simply graduation. If that's the case, (the government) should want to place some kind of time limit on it."
Rep. Glenn Steil Jr., R-Cascade, was the only member of the committee who voted against the bill.
Steil voted against the bill because he doesn't think it addresses the real issues, he said.
"It's just putting another Band-Aid on the issue," Steil said. "Higher education is so expensive. We can't continue to pay kids to take money to the schools. We can't continue to let education get so expensive."
Jim Agee, co-director of MSU's Michigan Political Leadership Program, can't think of any drawbacks to the plan, he said.
"It's about as reasonable as you can get. I find it hard to believe anyone would find this bill controversial," Agee said. "You often hear people talk of throwing money at a problem, but this does just the opposite.
"It throws money at achievement."
