In today’s economy, a college education is not easy to come by without financial assistance. For students in low and moderate income households, the cost of a higher education can be a large barrier. Oklahoma’s Promise(OHLAP) made it possible for thousands of students to obtain a college degree, but recent budget changes have put this resource at risk.

Oklahoma’s legislation has considered Oklahoma’s Promise to be an unnecessary resource to the ten percent of students enrolled in higher education institutions. In response to the budget changes Oklahoma is experiencing for higher education the legislation has made the requirements for students participating in Oklahoma’s Promise more rigorous.

One of the changes proposed by Speaker Jeff Hickman is to require participating students to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours per year. Meaning the full time work load for Oklahoma Promise students would be 15 hours instead of 12. A regular full time class schedule is difficult to maintain when adding in work, personal life and day to day activities.

Recipients of OHLAP come from low to moderate income homes. While OHLAP pays for tuition, it does not cover meal plans, housing and fees. If a student is relying on OHLAP to pay their tuition, there is a high chance they are working full time to pay for the rest of their semester costs. It is unfair to require a student, that already has odds against them, to have a higher minimum of credit hours a semester than regular students.

Per the official Oklahoma’s Promise website, “The push to impose a strict course requirement seems to emerge from concerns that scholarship recipients are not taking enough courses or making proper progress towards their degrees.” The site also goes on to state that a full 94 percent of OHLAP recipients enrolled full-time in the fall or spring semester. This in no way supports the idea that students are “lagging behind.”

Oklahoma’s Promise has been an exceptional program that has helped thousands of students reach their academic goals. Future students deserve to reap the same benefits and not be penalized because the legislation does not see funding higher education as important.

*Editor’s note: Jeff Hickman proposed this change to OHLAP in May 2015 as an attempt to combat funding shortfalls; conferences were unable to decide on the issue at that time. The proposal, HB2180, died in conference on May 19, 2016 during the regular session of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.