McCrory has good idea with G.I. scholarships
Published May 12, 2014
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, May 11, 2014.
To strengthen its economy, North Carolina needs a more highly skilled and talented workforce, yet every year untold numbers of people with those qualities here leave to move elsewhere.
Gov. Pat McCrory has a good idea for keeping them here.
The workers are, of course, military personnel who are leaving the service. Some have skills that translate easily to the civilian workforce. Others do not. But all have that invaluable military experience that makes for a great civilian employee.
McCrory realizes more veterans would stay in North Carolina if they could enroll in a state university at a reasonable price. Sure, they have their veterans’ benefits, but those benefits don’t always cover all of the costs of attending school and supporting a family, especially when the veteran would have to pay out-of-state tuition in the UNC system.
So here’s the governor’s idea: For their first year at a university, veterans would receive a scholarship worth as much as $7,500. That would offset the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition. And then in their second year, they’d presumably have gained in-state status, so they’d pay the lower rates.
There’s no guaranteeing that a young veteran from another state who leaves the service and attends a UNC school will stay here after graduation. But the odds are pretty good that he or she will.
University officials have made this argument for years with regard to keeping out-of-state tuition low: Get talented youngsters here to attend UNC and there’s a good chance they will stay.
The McCrory plan is well designed, and it appropriately uses education lottery funds to pay for the scholarships. We think this idea is a winner for all.
May 12, 2014 at 1:39 pm
Larry Gracie says:
Mr. McCrory Please make the same offer for our great Community Colleges
