Professors Pay Students’ Tuition With New 'Opportunity Scholarship'

In an effort to stem the drop-out rate of low-income and immigrant students at California’s Santa Ana College, some professors are paying for their students’ tuition through the school’s new Opportunity Scholarship, according to an Inside Higher Ed article (“Professors Pay Student's Tuition,” July 8, 2008).

To be distributed for the first time this fall, the scholarship will cover a full year of tuition at Santa Ana for students who have unmet financial needs and who carry at least a B-average GPA. The idea for the scholarship came from Jeff McMillan, a chemistry instructor and former president of the Academic Senate, who wanted to help prevent students from dropping out of classes due to finances.

McMillan commented that since a large number of Santa Ana’s low- income students are ineligible for federal government aid, such as Pell grants or Stafford student loans because they are children of undocumented immigrants, they often experience difficulties finding enough funds to cover the costs of their education.

McMillan, along with Santa Ana College counselor Issac Guzman, approached the school’s vice president of student services with the idea of a scholarship program that would be funded by college employees.

Largely due to publicity about the program, including an article that ran in the Los Angeles Times emphasizing the program’s need for community involvement, the number of scholarships to be distributed ballooned from the original estimate of 10 to 25 up to 100. The increase in awards was made possible, in large part, by contributions from individuals outside the Santa Ana College community.

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