Big promise: Program shines in difficult times

The Oklahoman Editorial Comments 1
Published: November 5, 2009

The economy was much better when Oklahoma lawmakers made the bold decision in 2007 that a college scholarship program would be the state’s top financial priority. Economic times like these make that move seem not just bold but visionary.

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Higher education isn’t immune from the budget cuts that state agencies have made so far. Nor have colleges and universities been protected from new orders to continue the cuts through the fiscal year. But officials said last week that all of the $54 million set aside for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program will be available this school year to help about 19,000 participating students.

The program has always been about improving access. It has opened the doors of higher learning for thousands of students who otherwise might have thought it would be too expensive and realized too late that they were ill-prepared academically.

With the promise of paid tuition, participating students from low- and middle-income families understand that they must stay out of trouble and take a college preparatory curriculum. And not surprisingly, the scholarship recipients tend to outperform their peers once they get to college.

A struggling economy convinces many people that they need more education at a time when they can least afford it. Fortunately for the Oklahoma’s Promise students already in school and the thousands more in the pipeline, their higher education won’t become a victim of a poor economy and poor timing. The state of Oklahoma has made them a very important promise.