New Scholarship Match Program at Kent State

A new scholarship program at will match the scholarships of incoming freshman — up to $1,000 — for the 2011-2012 academic year.

The university announced the scholarship match program today in anticipation of cuts in state and federal aid in the next school year.

“Kent State is committed to remaining one of Ohio’s most accessible and affordable public universities,” Kent State President Lester Lefton said in prepared remarks. “Though we do not know the outlook for higher education until the state budget is submitted next month, we are taking all efforts to minimize the financial burden on students."

The program matches any non-university scholarship that an incoming freshman receives for the fall semester. Examples the university gave of acceptable matches include scholarships from a local high school, clubs and organizations, churches, businesses and agencies.

The match awards are capped at $1,000.

"So, say you have a $500 scholarship from a local bank and a $750 scholarship from your church. The university would match the $1,000, so your total scholarship amount with outside and university scholarships would be $2,250," Kent State spokesperson Emily Vincent said in an e-mail. "If you have an outside scholarship or scholarships that total $500, the university would match $500, bringing your total scholarships to $1,000."

Requirements for receiving a match are:

• Recipients must be an Ohio resident admitted to the Kent campus as a new, incoming freshman for the fall 2011 semester
• You must be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program and register each semester for a minimum of 12 credit hours that are designated as Kent campus courses
• Complete the 2011-2012 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have results sent to Kent State
• Recipients must be eligible for the federal Pell Grant (as determined by the FAFSA results)

The announcement comes about a week after Lefton and other Ohio university officials met with state legislators in Columbus and talked about removing a tuition cap currently in place for public universities. The current state budget allows universities to increase tuition 3.5 percent each semester.

Lefton was among the officials gathered in Columbus last week who supported the removal of the tuition cap in the next budget, which Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to present March 15.

In December, Lefton announced a universitywide hiring freeze — another move in anticipation of cuts to higher education funding.

While a tuition increase would require action from the university's board of trustees, Vincent said no tuition action is currently on the board's agenda for their March 9 meeting.

"Tuition's not on the agenda currently," she said. "That kind of discussion would take place after the (state) budget is presented, after the March 9 meeting."

As for the new scholarship match program, no new funds are being used for the scholarships.

Mark Evans, director of financial aid at Kent State, said in an e-mail the university is reallocating existing scholarship funds to pay for the new match program.