A group of higher education leaders has proposed increasing the state's need-based grant for college students by $100.
Members of the Student Financial Aid Advisory Board agreed on Thursday to increase the award amount for the West Virginia Higher Education Grant. Their recommendation now goes to the state Higher Education Policy Commission, which meets later this month in Charleston.
The $2,600 grant is meant for low-income students who need help paying for college. The $100 increase to $2,700 may not seem like much, but every dollar helps, said Brian Weingart, director of financial aid for the commission.
"Tuition is going up, and we want to make college as affordable as possible," Weingart said. "We want to take some of the bite out of the tuition increases."
The need-based grant's award amount hasn't been increased in two years. More than 19,000 students attending colleges around the state use the grant to help pay for tuition. The commission has awarded $42.4 million to recipients so far this school year.
The advisory board also recommended several updates to financial aid policy regarding the grant and the state's merit-based Promise Scholarship. Those changes are technical in nature and, for the most part, won't affect students, Weingart said.
Changes that would affect students if the commission approves them, include creating an incentive for Higher Education Grant recipients who complete 30 credit hours in an academic year, should funds become available. Currently, grant recipients only have to complete 24 credit hours between the fall, summer and spring semesters. Weingart said should the commission be able to provide that incentive one day, it would encourage students to finish school in a timely manner.
Other proposed changes include allowing the commission to award Promise scholarships earlier so students have more time to make college decisions.
The deadline to apply for the Promise Scholarship was March 1. Students have until April 15 to apply for the Higher Education Grant. Both require a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Reach Samuel Speciale at sam.speciale@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @samueljspeciale on Twitter.