SVSU, MSU set to honor Michigan Promise Scholarship

The cancellation of the Michigan Promise scholarship has caused concern for students.

But not for those at Saginaw Valley State University and Michigan State University.

SVSU decided to pay for the fees that would have benefited the students via the scholarship.

“With the timing of being halfway through the semester, we thought it would be most appropriate to pay for the students expenses,” said Donald Bachand, Academic Affairs vice president for SVSU. “We absorbed a significant cost, but it seemed like the right thing to do.”

The Michigan Promise was not included in Michigan’s $44.5 billion state budget signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Oct. 30 because of cut funding.

The Promise was a state-sponsored scholarship signed Dec. 21, 2006, replacing the Michigan Merit Award. It provided $4,000 to students attending at least a two-year institution.

Approximately $700,000 from SVSU’s funds are being used to pay for the Promise Scholarship.

“We would have spent it on programs for the students and improvements to the campus,” Bachand said. “But either way, this benefits the students.”

Out of the school’s entire population of 10,498 students, only 1,400 are given the money to pay for their tuition, said J.J. Boehm, media relations director for SVSU.

Those 1,400 students will get the credit on their student accounts immediately, Boehm said.

SVSU president Eric Gilbertson made the final decision with the university’s governing board.

Val Meyers, associate director of financial services at MSU, said the students who received the Michigan Promise will be compensated with a university grant one semester at a time.

“Students with the fall award will be replaced with an MSU grant. Students with the spring award will also be replaced by the same grant,” she said. “It’s a two-step process.”

Can’t afford the promise

Other schools, including Central Michigan University, still say they will not pay for the scholarship.

At Grand Valley State University, the billing statements have already been sent out to those supposed to receive the money.

“It’s a promise from the state, not from the university,” said Matt McLogan, vice president of University Relations. “At GVSU, we only accept good students who usually have that Promise scholarship.”

At GVSU, the Promise scholarship elimination affected 7,300 students. At the beginning of the school year, the student were told if the scholarship were to not pass, they would have to pay themselves.

“It was something that we warned our students,” McLogan said. “It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow, but they knew ahead of time. It’s a shame, because it sends a signal that education in this state isn’t a main priority.”

GVSU’s President Thomas J. Haas informed students in September that since the state could not keep its promise of aid to students, the university would have to revise students’ bills.

“It is regrettable that the state cannot fund these scholarships to our students, but Grand Valley simply cannot absorb the cost of fulfilling the state’s promise,” said Mary Eilleen Lyon, assistant vice president for News and Information Services. “We do understand that the cancellation of aid this late may cause unusual hardship for students.”