Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced Monday that his FY19 budget proposal will include a request for a “Baltimore County College Promise” program. This new need-based scholarship program would begin with the Fall 2018 semester, and would cover tuition and mandatory fees at the Community College of Baltimore County to enable eligible county residents to complete an associate’s degree or workplace and certification program, up to a maximum of three years.
“This is a real game-changer for students from low or moderate income families for whom the benefits of a college education might otherwise be out of reach,” Kamenetz said. “It opens up a lifetime of career income opportunities.”
To be eligible, students must live in Baltimore County and have an adjusted household income of $69,000 or less, which is the median income for Baltimore County residents. Students must have graduated from a public, parochial, private, or home school within the past two years with a GPA of 2.5 or better and complete a federal financial aid (FAFSA form). Baltimore County College Promise students must enroll full-time and be “college-ready.” They must maintain full-time enrollment and a GPA of at least 2.5. The scholarship applies only to the student’s first credential or degree.
“I am in favor of expanding community college and workforce training, and based on the information I have seen, believe this is an affordable initiative that I would likely support,” Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, said in an email.
A majority of the seven members of the County Council have said they support the program: Vicki Almond, Julian Jones, Tom Quirk, Cathy Bevins and Todd Crandell all expressed support for the proposal in a county news release. Councilman Wade Kach, who represents Timonium, could not be reached for immediate comment.
The program is already up online on the CCBC website.
Should be performance based – 2.5 is barely passing. Reward those with good effort. A higher GPA would be recommended to maintain the value of a college education, as well as an incentive for performing well in high school.
Like O’Malley before him, Kaminetz is only using this as propaganda in his bid for Governor. He is dumbing down the requirements to ellicit the most votes.
Regardless, this is a good program, which has been successfull in four other STATES (not counties). According to Rhode Island Governor Gians Raimondo,
““In order to get the scholarship, you have to apply for all federal aid you’re available for, like Pell grants, for example. You have to apply for any kind of other scholarships. And then there’s often a gap of about a thousand bucks. So the average size of our [RI] scholarship is — is not huge— it’s a thousand bucks, 2,000 bucks. Because they get their Pell money, we’ve seen a huge increase in the Pell recipients because now that people know they have a shot at going to college, they are more likely to apply for Pell. And they’re not leaving that money on the table.”