The first cohort of scholars
Published 5:19 pm Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The paradox of Washington’s public universities is the dual mission of serving as a research powerhouse while attracting brainy but often low-income students from Edmonds to Everett.
Tapping the private sector’s appetite for professional, tech-savvy grads is one remedy for the tuition squeeze. The pipeline from university to marketplace already exists, but the system demands a funding boost to benefit qualified students who don’t have the dinero for school.
To goose access, Washington’s business community paired with the state in 2011 to create the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship. The mission is to provide scholarships to 5,000 Washington students annually, maxing to $17,000 over the course of a college career. The area of study must be either health-related or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.)
Policymakers and big donors recognize the demand for STEM grads, and home-grown trumps imported talent. Cost-prohibitive tuition remains a stumbling block for qualified students, with less than a third of Pell-grant recipients finishing their associate degree within four years. Scholarships mortar the funding cracks and bolster graduation rates.
Boeing and Microsoft are ponying up $50 million for the WSOS and the state kicked in $5 million. The goal is to raise $500 million in private funds matched with state support for a total of $1 billion by 2020. The campaign has already yielded impressive results, with 3,000 students awarded $1,000 scholarships in the spring of 2012 (the gift ramps up to $5,000 for seniors and juniors.)
On Wednesday UW President Michael Young hosted 150 WSOS Scholars — the first cohort — from UW, Seattle University, Bellevue College and Seattle Community College. In 2012, more than 3,000 students pursuing STEM and health care degrees were awarded the WSOS.
There are 25,000 unfilled jobs in Washington related to STEM and health care, according to a report from the Washington Roundtable and Boston Consulting Group.
“Washington is the ass end of the donkey in just about every aspect of education,” said UW’s Ed Lazowska, Bill and Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering. The WSOS is a laudatory exception to Lazowska’s wisdom.
Individuals and companies in Snohomish and Island counties can contribute to scholarship funds that are then matched by the state and fully tax-deductible. More significantly, the WSOS establishes a tax-exempt endowment that can’t be drained like the state’s tobacco-settlement funds.
The WSOS is a partial salve to Washington’s tuition crunch. It merits strong support.
