Free College in West Virginia May Not Be So Free After All

Posted by: Allie P. | Jan 16,2008

If you live in West Virginia, you’re probably aware of the free college program. The PROMISE (Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-state Student Excellence) scholarships provide free college tuition for students who have achieved academic excellence. The money comes in part from video lottery machines in West Virginia. The governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, wants to make some changes to the free college program.

 

Instead of working to keep good students in West Virginia schools, Manchin is proposing that West Virginia college students who are eligible for the PROMISE scholarships stay in West Virginia after they graduate- or lose their scholarship. Where the scholarship used to have no strings, now, graduating students would have to work in the state for two to four years or risk losing the scholarship. This would force West Virginia college grads to pay back part or all of their PROMISE scholarship.

 

The plan to change the West Virginia free college program needs some tweaking. I see where Manchin is coming from. West Virginia needs qualified bodies in seats at local companies. And why invest in someone who will just take the money and run? The problem with revising the PROMISE scholarships is that you may leave college graduates with less opportunity if you force them to stay in state. Tracking students who have left school may also prove difficult- and costly- for the state.

 

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