June 15, 2004

BOARD OF HIGHER ED OVERWHELMINGLY OKAYS ADAMS SCHOLARSHIP

Board Approves Key Component of Romney’s Legacy of Learning Plan

FRAMINGHAM – The Board of Higher Education today overwhelmingly approved the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program, the central component of Governor Mitt Romney’s Legacy of Learning initiative first unveiled last January during his State of the State Address.

Romney said the Adams scholarship will encourage student achievement and help middle-class families send their children to college by offering four years of free tuition at the University of Massachusetts or at any of the nine state or 15 community colleges to the highest performing high school graduates from across Massachusetts.

“Families all across the Commonwealth are struggling to afford to send their children to college,” Romney said, during a rare appearance before a meeting of the Board of Higher Education. “The new Adams scholarship will make the dream of obtaining a college education a reality for thousands of Bay State students and keep our most talented students right here in Massachusetts.”

Beginning with the class of 2005, the Adams scholarship is open to all public school students who score in the top 25 percent on the MCAS test by the end of their junior year. Students who receive the tuition waiver must complete their college studies in four years or less and maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

Based on the number of high school students who took the MCAS test statewide last year, about 17,000 in next year’s senior class would qualify for free tuition. Last academic year, average tuition at state colleges was $977 and $740 at community colleges. At UMass, the average tuition was $1,575.

The program is estimated to cost $8.3 million initially in Fiscal Year 2006 and about $34 million annually when it is fully up and running by its fourth year.

In addition to the tuition waiver, Romney’s original proposal provided a $2,000 annual bonus to the top 10 percent of MCAS scorers to help defray the cost of fees. It was also open to students enrolled in parochial and private schools if they met the MCAS requirements. These components still need legislative approval.

The new merit-based Adams scholarship program will complement the $95 million in annual needs-based aid the state already spends on students from low-income families.

Romney said the Adams scholarship “will help working families that are caught in the trap of making too much to qualify for financial aid, but too little to fully finance their child’s college education.”

Said Romney: “These families work hard, play by the rules and keep our economy running. They watch every dollar and often struggle to make ends meet. All they ask for in return is a fair shake.”

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