Central Michigan University is investing $6 million into its merit scholarship programs this year in hopes of expanding the packages available to incoming freshmen.

Bringing total investments to about $61 million, up from last year's total of $54 million, the program will continue to offer scholarships based on grade point averages and ACT scores.

The GPA requirement was lowered from 3.5 to 3.0 and ACT scores must be at least 21 for students to be eligible. To continue the award, student must maintain a GPA of 3.25.

Although admitting the expansion could help address enrollment reductions at CMU, Student Government Association's press secretary and Royal Oak sophomore Kai Niezgoda worried the initiative does little to address retention and the continued success of CMU's current student body.

"I think it's a really good move on the part of CMU to make education more affordable," Niezgoda said. "But there's been no continued support for continuing students. It feels like we have less value than new students."

Referring to his own merit scholarship, garnered after high school with a 3.7 GPA, and $2,500 per year at CMU, Niezgoda was concerned that incoming freshman have an unfair advantage over current students.

The investment offered three merit awards: The Academic Prestige Award, valued at $6,000 a year; the Academic Excellence Award, valued at $4,500 a year; and the Academic Success Award, valued at $3,000 a year.

At $6,000 per year, the Academic Prestige Award could give students $24,000 over their four years at CMU. This is a "$14,000" advantage, Niezgoda said, to his total award of $10,000.

"Students should be supported for their achievements here," Niezgoda said. "Students who didn't do so well in high school, but are working harder here also deserve more support. They should be supported for purposes of retention, and for feeling they're a valued part of our campus. Current students are facing the same financial battles that incoming freshmen will face next year."

The new program aims to provide aid to 800 incoming freshmen. Vice President of Enrollment and Student Affairs Steven Johnson said, ideally, the university re-evaluates financial programs every four to six years..

"We've already been putting forward the budget," he said. "We look at the total baseline investment dollars. The president is committed to providing for this."

Johnson said new financial aid programs begin with each new class. He said the university never creates retroactive programs for current students.

"We just don't have the type of money to look at incoming students, and continuing students," Johsnon said. "That may be a future investment, but generally you do not implement retroactive programs. We continue to look at financial aid for all students. We didn't pull any money back from continuing students."

Further explaining that all of CMU's merit scholarships are based on high school performance, Johnson said all current funding is directed at the incoming class, but offering retroactive awards for student achievement at CMU may be a future consideration.

"We've never had scholarships, per se, that were given after a student was onboard," he said. "That may be a future consideration. We wish we could, but right now we need to look at what we have and what resources are available, and that is directed at new students."

In a news release, CMU President George Ross stressed his desire to reward students for success in high school.

"CMU is a first-choice university for students driven to discover and achieve,” Ross said. “They should be rewarded for their academic achievement in high school.”

Johnson said the new investments are intended to create a diverse incoming class and that the new investment is the largest one-year increase the university has made to financial aid.

Students with lower GPAs were a demographic that financial aid had not previous addressed, Johnson said. Most incoming freshmen average a 3.2 GPA, and average ACT scores between 22 and 23.

"This is an audience we have not reached before with merit scholarships," Johnson said. "This will be responsive to a larger group of students. It might make the overall profile higher. We continue to be committed to controlling the cost."

The new programs, Johnson said, will also allow students to finish college earlier. He named several advantages to students finishing in four years.

"(The program) also does a larger philosophical good in helping students complete in four years," Johnson said. "We want you to complete, so you're able to hit the market place sooner with less debt. (The program) puts them on a path more aggressively to finish in four to five years."

Meant to provide incentive to students to complete their degree program on time, Johnson said only one-third to one-fourth of applications will be eligible. The acceptance process, he said, will be focused on students' future goals and potential while at CMU.

"It's not just the attraction," Jonhson said. "It's being able to retain. There's no advantage to identifying a student enrolled who won't be successful. We want to make sure they're successful, but it all falls on the student"