Josh Barta
jbarta@uwyo.edu
The board of trustees voted last fall to annually raise the cost of tuition for students by 4 percent, which has spurred a proposal to increase Hathaway scholarship funding.
The board also made a vote to increase tuition costs in the 2015-16 academic year by 5 percent. With cost of tuition on the rise the Wyoming Department of Education, or WDE, has proposed the state increase the amount of money in-state student will receive from the Hathaway scholarship.
The WDE has begun discussing how it can accomplish this.
Brent Young, chief policy officer at the WDE, commented on the legislation process.
“We have met and discussed a possible bill with legislators in Jackson, Wyoming,” he said. “We meet again on Dec. 15 and hope to get a bill written.”
The bill may include how student performance is assessed, Young said. Until now, Hathaway was given to Wyoming high school students based on ACT scores and an unweighted GPA.
The WDE is now considering changing the eligibility requirements in the upcoming review.
“The review shall include, but is not limited to, consideration of mechanisms to account for the academic rigor of high school classes, such as advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses, dual and concurrent enrollment, and a weighted grade point average scale,” according to the WDE.
The bill may also include additional incentives for high school students, including paying for the student’s first 120 credit hours for students who have completed 12 college credits in high school, Young said.
In the past Wyoming has succeeded in keeping students in state by keeping tuition costs low in comparison to other state colleges. According to UW’s website, about 69 percent of UW’s undergraduate population consists of Wyoming residents.
Hathaway makes Wyoming colleges virtually free for some students.
Jessy Noblitt, UW senior at in audiology, graduated high school in Casper and came to UW in 2011. She commented on how Hathaway has helped her pay for school.
“I came to UW because it was cheap,” she said. “Until this year, Hathaway has basically paid all of my tuition costs.”
As a fifth year senior, Noblitt no longer receives Hathaway due to the scholarship’s four-year limit.
“It has been a little harder paying for school this year,” she said.
