News Summary

Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed changes to the Ohio Student Choice Grant program pose a serious threat to students at Wittenberg University and at all Ohio independent colleges. Currently, the Choice Grant provides $900 per year to Ohio students who attend independent colleges within the state. Proposed changes to the program will eliminate the program for all but a small percentage of students currently eligible for the grant.

While $900 may not appear significant, approximately 1,200 of our students who have been eligible for the Choice Grant (86% of all eligible students) would lose this funding. Students at Wittenberg and other independent colleges report that this grant from their home state provided a significant incentive for them to attend college in Ohio. Ohio simply cannot afford to lose more of its best and brightest students to the many out-of-state colleges and universities that are more than happy to receive them.

As I have had the opportunity to directly hear Governor Strickland's plans for Ohio, I know that growing the state's economy is a top priority for his administration. The fact is that Ohio's independent colleges produce a disproportionate share of science and math majors, and a larger number of engineers than do public colleges. These are precisely the types of graduates that will be needed to fuel the Governor's vision for economic prosperity in the future.

In addition to our graduates, many of whom stay and build their lives and families in Ohio, Wittenberg has a profound local and regional impact through the goods, services, and taxes purchased and paid by our students, faculty, and staff. We are also proud of our work in regional development through our recently announced partnerships with QBase, Community-Mercy Health Partners, and others to come. As critical stakeholders in Ohio's future, independent colleges cannot risk becoming less accessible to Ohio students desiring the type of education and choice provided by Ohio's world-class network of independent colleges.

Wittenberg is actively working in conjunction with others across the state to ask the governor to rethink his position on the Choice Grant. As President of Wittenberg University, I ask for your support in this critically important issue for all of us as residents of the state of Ohio.