Arizona high-school students planning to attend ASU on an AIMS-based scholarship could be searching for new options if a budget-cutting recommendation is approved.
As part of a widespread effort to cut spending, University officials said ASU would suspend the funding of its AIMS scholarship program to future students if the option is approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.
The scholarship, officially named the Regents High Honors Endorsement, covers the cost of tuition at Arizona’s universities.
Jeanne Woodward, counseling department chair at Horizon High School in the Paradise Valley School District, said she worried about the consequences that could come from suspending the program.
“The impact would be catastrophic,” she said.
Horizon High School had more than 100 students qualify for the scholarship last year, Woodward said, and counselors introduce the qualifications to students as early as eighth grade.
With tuition rising in tough economic times, she said students who planned to attend ASU using the scholarship might have to attend community college or make sacrifices in order to afford ASU.
“I would see students having to perhaps take fewer [credit] hours or live at home and commute,” she said.
Counselors and teachers have told students that the scholarship program might not be available for them at ASU, but because the cutting of the scholarship has not been approved, they encourage a wait-and-see approach, she said.
Caitlyn DeSola, a junior at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, said she has counted on the scholarship being available throughout high school.
“I’m thinking of going to community college if I don’t get the AIMS scholarship,” she said. “But if I did, ASU would probably be my first choice.”
To receive the scholarship, students must receive a score of “exceeding” on the reading, writing and math portions of the AIMS test, and receive no lower than a ‘B’ in any of 16 required courses.
Students are allowed to retake all portions of the tests through their junior year to to score higher. But DeSola said many of her friends reconsidered after hearing that the scholarship might not be available at ASU.
“They’ve decided to stop taking the AIMS just because of that reason,” she said. “It might be a deciding factor for a lot of people.”
University Student Initiatives spokeswoman Diana Bejarano said in an e-mail that all students currently receiving the scholarship will not be affected as long as they continue to meet all renewal criteria as detailed when they received the award.
She said 555 freshmen were awarded the AIMS scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year. The total amount awarded was $3,001,995, she said.
But before any funds are suspended from the program, the Arizona Board of Regents must review the recommendation.
ABOR Vice President Ernest Calderon said he does not support suspending the program’s funds because he believes the money could be cut from other parts of the University’s budget.
“If it went through, it would dissuade students from attending ASU,” he said.
By eliminating the chance to earn the scholarship, Calderon said students might choose UA or NAU, which are not asking to suspend the scholarship.
Calderon said President Michael Crow believes suspending the scholarship would save the University a total $5.2 million.
Before he votes, Calderon said he wants to hear the details.
“I’m asking questions. I’m going to let Michael Crow make his case,” Calderon said. “[But] I’d like him to find the $5.2 million elsewhere.”
Reach the reporter at adam.sneed@asu.edu.
