The Arkansas Democratic Gazette - Beebe Wants More Need-Based Funds
Beebe Wants More Need-Based Funds
BY TRACIE DUNGAN
Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006
FAYETTEVILLE Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Beebe would like to see Arkansas add more scholarship opportunities for students with financial need, he said during a stop on his statewide jobs tour Friday morning.
"We have kind of loaded up on merit scholarships," he told about 75 people who gathered in Fayetteville for a "Town Hall" meeting. "But I think we've neglected that other area needbased scholarships."
The attorney general's remarks came in response to a question from the audience after a 40-minute speech in which he reiterated themes that have emerged on his "Believe in Arkansas" tour. He responded that more help for low-income students also would benefit minority-group members but not be limited to them.
Higher education leaders in Arkansas have long debated the virtues of merit-based scholarships, particularly since schools such as the Universit y of Arkansas at Fayetteville have sought to use them to bolster their studentretention and graduation rates.
Some educators believe that by producing more degree-holders, they can attract the kind of industries that can fuel Arkansas ' economy and thus give the state's taxpayers a better return on their investment in higher education.
But others have argued they themselves would never have been able to earn a college degree if the state had invested only in students who excelled in their studies.
Beebe, who was raised by a single mother, said he didn't work as hard as he should have on this studies in high school.
"There are a lot of kids just like me," he said. "Some kids mature later than others. Some kids are lazier than others, and the light bulb doesn't go on until later."
He said he wasn't necessarily saying that four-year universities and two-year schools should put the same level of extra focus on need-based scholarships.
"There's no question that the roles of the universities are different," he said. It might be that this would naturally fall to the two-year schools because of demographics and other factors, he added.
"I'm for the merit-based scholarships don't get me wrong," he said. "But you can't put all your eggs in one basket."
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/146125/