State budget gives education a boost
Tuition lock, Promise Program included

By Eric Nguyen, Editor

State education received a boost May 15 when Gov. Brad Henry announced a state education budget that includes giving incoming freshmen the option to lock in tuition at a guaranteed rate and providing a permanent funding source for college tuition help.

The tuition-lock program would give qualifying OCCC students the option to lock in a guaranteed tuition rate for two years.

In-state four-year university students would have the option to lock in a guaranteed rate for four years, according to the bill.

OCCC incoming freshmen will have this option starting fall 2008 when the law goes into effect, said President Paul Sechrist.

The option would apply only to students who are enrolled full-time during fall and spring semesters during their time at OCCC, he said. A student who dropped to part-time at any point would no longer qualify for the locked rate.

Sechrist said the program will provide benefits to the students.

“It will allow students to know what the rate of tuition will be while they remain at that institution.”

Students who take longer than two years to complete a degree at OCCC would not be locked in beyond the second year, Sechrist said.

“It is my understanding that the tuition-lock rate ends at the completion of the two-year program …” he said.

He said he doesn’t yet know if OCCC graduates who transfer to a four-year university would be eligible to continue the program there.

“I’m not sure if the law provides for this option,” he said.

And, although the locked rate is generally higher, Sechrist said, it has benefits.

“Some students might prefer this option to help them plan their finances for two years at OCCC.”

Melissa Hensley, nursing freshman, agrees.

“I think it would be a good chance to take,” she said.

“I would choose [the locked tuition rate] so I can plan my finances better.”

The budget also includes the establishment to find a permanent funding source for Oklahoma’s Promise Program (formerly called the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program or OHLAP).

Oklahoma’s Promise Program helps pay tuition for Oklahoma college students whose families earn less than $50,000 per year, said Ben Hardcastle, director of communication for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Hardcastle said it is projected that Oklahoma’s Promise Program will cost $48 million for fiscal year 2008.

The program needed $37 million last year and ran out of money because it was funded by lottery revenue, which generated less money than expected, Hardcastle said.

Having a stable source for funding the Oklahoma’s Promise Program is a positive for OCCC students who depend on it, Sechrist said.

“Without a permanent funding source, colleges and universities would have to divert funds from operating funds or raise tuition to cover the shortfall.”

Adrian Chan, nursing sophomore, said the Promise Program is a great opportunity for students.
“It helps people who need money get an education,” she said.

The increases in state education funding is part of a $7.1 billion state budget agreement reached by the Oklahoma State Legislation session May 15.

The agreement is represented in Senate Bill 334, the general appropriations bill, which awaits Gov. Henry’s signature to pass into law, said Paul Sund, communications director for Henry, “[The governor] is in the process of reviewing [around] 200 bills,” he said.

As of press time, Henry is expected to sign the bill by June 1 or the week after, Sund said.

Also included in the bill is a $10 million deposit into the Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System and a $33 million increase for the State Regents for Higher Education.

The process to increase funding for state education has not always been a smooth one, Henry said in the May 21 issue of the Communicator, OCCC’s weekly employee newsletter.

“But lawmakers ultimately came together to do significant things for Oklahoma, such as strengthening higher education and increasing teacher pay,” Henry said.

Editor Eric Nguyen can be reached at editor@occc.edu.