Needy inner-city students offered two years of college—free

By Mary Jane Smetanka
Star Tribune

In an attempt to boost the number of Minnesota minority students who go to college, a new program will offer two years of free tuition to needy city residents who graduate from public high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul this spring.

Organizers hope the "Power of You" program, the first of its kind in Minnesota, will help at least 200 students attend college next fall. Students must attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) or St. Paul College. Both are two-year schools.

In 2007, four-year Metropolitan State University will join the program.

MCTC President Phil Davis said the effort was prompted by discouraging reports that less than 5 percent of minority ninth-graders in the state's two biggest cities earn a four-year college degree by the time they turn 25.

"That's something we can't let go unchallenged," he said. "We wanted to remove real and perceived barriers, so we said let's just say the first two years of college are free. We wanted to create hope."

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman touted the program in his inauguration speech Tuesday, saying he hoped it would help boost the graduation rates for minority kids.

Leaders of the Minneapolis and St. Paul school boards also reacted enthusiastically. "I'm excited. I'm looking forward to its launching," said Elona Street-Stewart, St. Paul school board chairwoman. In Minneapolis, school board Chairman Joseph Erickson called the offer "a wonderful idea." The promise of two years of free education should increase awareness of college opportunities and motivate students, he said.

To receive free schooling, students must be residents of Minneapolis or St. Paul and graduate from a public school in the city, including charter and alternative schools. Students will be selected based on need. Tuition and fees at a school like MCTC are about $4,050 a year, Davis said. For low-income students, most of that would be covered by a federal Pell Grant. The program will fill any gaps in tuition and fees funding. Students will have to cover book and transportation costs.

Participants in the program will be expected to carry a full class load of 12 credits and must take a first-semester class that aims at building confidence and study and time-management skills. Students who need help with English will attend a summer camp before they start college. And students must keep their grades up to stay in the program, which will also offer regular counseling and mentoring. "If they're not prepared and they get nothing beyond financial help, they're not going to be successful," Davis said.

Although the program promises to pay only for the first two years of college, Davis said schools are committed to seeking merit-based scholarships that will bridge the leap to a four-year institution.

One of Davis' hopes is that the program makes college a more realistic goal for urban students. Davis said that when he recently asked random students at Minneapolis' North High School how much they thought annual college tuition was, the most common answer was $30,000 a year.

"If there's no way you could afford it, why would you plan for it?" Davis said. When he told them otherwise, he said, "their faces light up -- it's not in their imagination that it's possible."

Mark James, a senior at Minnesota Transition Junior ROTC in south Minneapolis, said the initiative would save him and some of his college-hopeful friends a lot of financial trouble. He plans to attend North Hennepin Community College to save his mom money.

"If I can get my generals for free, that'd be nice," he said.

Shane Harris, a senior at Minneapolis' Patrick Henry High School, said some of his friends don't know much about financial aid and have parents who didn't attend college. He said the program could change the way some of the kids think about their future.

"Anything being paid for is a good thing because you don't have to worry about it," Harris said. "They should really try to promote it in the high schools now while kids are looking for scholarships."

The program is working closely with the two cities and community organizations to spread the word and to get younger students thinking about college. Students who don't take the right kinds of classes, starting in junior high, can limit their chances.

"If we can convince students that they can go to college and must go, then we will change behavior, not only in high school but in third grade and fifth grade," Davis said.

The five-year budget for the program, which organizers hope will serve at least five successive graduating classes, is anticipated at about $2.8 million. So far, more than $450,000 has been raised from General Mills, St. Paul Traveler's and the Perlman Family Foundation.

An official kick-off is set for Monday at MCTC.