When we hear that, in comparison to the national college graduation rates of other four-year institutions, Arizona comes in at an astonishing 46th place, we have to wonder what we’re doing wrong.
According to Dean Calleroz-White, the keynote speaker at this year’s Barack Obama Scholars Program Orientation Aug. 25, 1,500 of this year’s ASU freshman class are Obama Scholars. Of this group, 40 percent are merit scholars, while all share an average GPA of 3.32 upon entering college. And the committee members of the program expect to see 100 percent return next year to graduate.
Despite the good intentions, though, this program appears to encourage exclusive aid for mediocre achievements that values quantity over quality.
The Barack Obama Scholars Program, heading into its second year, was created in an attempt to increase the number of Arizona high school students enrolling in four-year universities.
Only Arizona high school students with a family income of less than $60,000 are eligible for the program. Students must also enter the fall semester immediately following high school graduation, prioritizing not only Arizona residents as its main target but also Arizona high school students. The cumulative GPA required to remain eligible for the program after the student’s first academic year, according to Calleroz-White, is a mere 2.75.
Even with all the eligibility requirements to apply for the program, one has to ask if the program is too nonselective. It seems as if any Arizona high schooler with an almost average GPA and lower family income can be awarded membership into the program— but, then again, much of this criteria is the same as that of ASU’s general admission.
While I’m sure the Obama Scholars do not intend on putting the bare minimum into their academic endeavors while at ASU, what message are we sending when we only require students to achieve less than B average grades?
Calleroz-White’s message to the scholars Wednesday evening was this: “We want you to be excellent when you leave this place; more excellent than when you came in.” But when did being satisfactory equate excellence?
While criteria like an average GPA, residency, and a higher qualifying family income may seem like no more than a ploy to increase the number of Arizona high school students enrolling in college, the Barack Obama Scholars Program may be doing more than expanding its financial aid.
For one thing, the program’s application process is simple and, unlike many other scholarships, does not take days to complete; this may mean that more high school students will be encouraged to apply for financial aid in the coming years, increasing the likelihood that these students will attend college.
According to Becca Smith, a freshman Obama Scholar majoring in applied biological science in wildlife and restoration ecology, “A lot of people I know don’t go after scholarships and stuff like that because of all of the stuff you have to do. You have to write this long essay, you have to fill out this long questionnaire…and you have to do your FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Students Aid] anyway added on to all that. But just doing your FAFSA earlier was all you had to do.”
In a state where only nine out of 100 students who begin high school graduate from college, students need as much encouragement to pursue higher education as possible.
ASU President Michael Crow said, “To remain globally competitive, the United States must vastly increase the number of college graduates it produces.” It seems as if this program’s main purpose is to increase the number of Arizona graduates, rather than improve the quality of education we are providing America’s youth. This seems very out of line with the Obama Administration’s goal, which, according to Obama, is to “ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education-from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.”
When it comes to education, we should be more concerned with the quality of the graduates we are producing than the quantity.
Reach Jessica at jessica.renee.stone@asu.edu
