Governor'€™s proposal makes college affordable

Gov. Parnell recently introduced an educational plan in order to allow more students to attend Alaska universities. The Governor’s Performance Scholarship (GPS), would award students with an A average in high school a scholarship for free tuition at any Alaska university or trade school, students with a B average would receive a scholarship covering 75 percent of tuition, and students with a C average would receive a scholarship for 50 percent of tuition. Scholarship recipients must have taken four years of math, English and science, and three years of social studies.

The governor’s plan would open doors of opportunity to many students in the state by providing them with an affordable college option, thereby keeping more college- bound students in the state.

The recession has not only steepened competition in the job market, but for colleges and scholarships as well. Students unable to receive college financial aid are forced to take one of two paths: either end their education with a high school diploma, or graduate from college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Needless to say, neither path is particularly desirable, or good for any student. A college degree’s importance mirrors the high school diploma’s status years ago: the number of jobs available to students without a college education is small, as is advancement in any field requiring only a high school diploma. Likewise, students who risk the incredible debt load find themselves in debt upon graduation and are often forced to take unsatisfying jobs far from their degrees aspirations to pay the bills and then remain locked in such jobs until their debt is eventually paid.

The students particularly affected by such limitations are the students who have averaged C’s throughout high school. These students would benefit immensely from the governor’s proposal. Many of these students are often overlooked for scholarship possibilities and grants, which render them almost incapable of attending college after school. The possibilities of a student obtaining a college degree and pursuing their dreams should not be dictated by the grades they earned in high school. The GPS would allocate more money to go to these students and encourage them to enroll in college or trade schools without the shackles of loans needed to graduate with a lifetime of debt. The governor’s plan provides a continuing education to many students who otherwise would be deprived, and for this, he should be applauded.

Briana Murphy is a senior at Colony High School