In the waning days of the General Assembly session, legislators wanted changes made to the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program, the promise of two years of free tuition for Ocean State high school graduates.
To pare the expense of the program the legislators scaled it back to focus only on the Community College of Rhode Island. And they increased the required grade-point average to maintain the scholarship to 2.5, up from the 2.0 originally proposed by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo.
To prevent graduates from collecting the free tuition, then leaving the state after graduation, the bill also was amended by the House to include a new postgraduate residency requirement: “[Recipients] must commit to live, work or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation. The Community College of Rhode Island shall develop a policy that will secure this commitment from recipient-students.”
The changes were approved, and CCRI agreed to include an “attestation,” or signed declaration that the students who receive the free tuition will stay in-state when they graduate.
There is no enforcement mechanism beyond that, explained Patrick Stone, a CCRI spokesman. He pointed to the language of the bill itself. Nothing says that students would have to repay the scholarship, or even a portion of it, if they leave Rhode Island for employment or further education in other states.
“There is no penalty for leaving the state,” he said. “There is no language in the bill that was passed about a penalty.”
The governor’s office is aware of the attestation, he noted. A spokesman for Raimondo could not be immediately reached for comment.
Never a supporter of the scholarship program, Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Brandon Bell said his chief concern is there is no guarantee the money spent on the program will pay off for the state, i.e. through increased jobs or more degrees. “If the program is going to exist, there should be a way to guarantee a return on our investment,” he said. “And not just giving away taxpayer dollars.”
He has viewed the program more as a re-election or campaign strategy for Raimondo. As for the attestation, the signed document, he said it is unenforceable, “a piece of toilet paper.”
CCRI anticipates about 1,200 students this year will enroll as first-time, full-time students, among the requirements for the scholarship. The scholarship, based on current tuition, has a value of about $7,900 if a student remains enrolled for the two years, Stone said. Overall, state lawmakers authorized $2.8 million in scholarships this year for the community college.
Based on surveys of graduating students, CCRI says that, historically, most of its graduates at least plan to remain in-state. The figure is close to 90 percent, Stone said.
“The purpose of the legislation and the purpose of the scholarship are to educate more Rhode Islanders,” he said.
