Raimondo proposing programs designed to make college more affordable and accessible in R.I.

IN A PREVIEW of the Thursday release of her first budget, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said she would propose spending roughly $13 million on programs to help students pay for college and then stay in Rhode Island to start businesses. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
IN A PREVIEW of the Thursday release of her first budget, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said she would propose spending roughly $13 million on programs to help students pay for college and then stay in Rhode Island to start businesses. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

(Updated, 5:30 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo will propose three programs designed to make college more affordable and easier to access in Rhode Island, and to attract and retain recent graduates in high-wage science, technology and design fields.
The educational access and loan repayment initiatives will become a part of her fiscal 2016 budget proposal, scheduled to be released Thursday. In an announcement Wednesday, she presented an outline of the programs in broad terms. The programs will cost about $13 million combined, according to information provided by the governor’s office.
“They are at the core of making Rhode Island a place of opportunity,” Raimondo said.
The first effort, called Prepare RI, will expand existing opportunities for high school students to enroll in colleges while still attending high school. These students would be able to take part in certificate and degree programs, earning college credits, “at no additional cost” to the student or their families. The program would make it possible, Raimondo said, for students to earn an associate’s degree by the time they graduate from a Rhode Island high school.
“It’s a complete rethinking” of the high school process, she said. “All students should have this opportunity.” The governor’s budget will include $1.3 million for the program.
The second, and most extensive, program would create a Last Dollar Scholarship Program for students with proven academic performance, who already have received grants or scholarships, but for whom the remaining cost of college is a challenge. The budget will include $10 million for the program in its first year.

The final effort, aimed at recruiting and retaining entrepreneurs in critical fields, would provide student loan forgiveness for up to four years for recent college graduates who start businesses in Rhode Island in fields including the sciences, technology, engineering and design.
Criteria would have to be developed, Raimondo said, but the idea is to attract and retain entrepreneurs in industries that Rhode Island needs to expand. The program would be open to graduates of universities beyond Rhode Island who move to the Ocean State, although preference would be given to state graduates, she said.
“If you work in Rhode Island for a period of four years, we will pay back a portion of your student loans,” she said.
The program, to be called the Wave Maker Fellowship, would provide $1.75 million for about 100 recent graduates, with two-thirds of the awards intended for Rhode Island students.

No posts to display