Changes have been made to the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant program for the summer of 2017 because of changes in funding that affect both resident and nonresident UI students.
By Elianna Novitch
Recent changes to the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant program will affect both resident and nonresident students at the University of Iowa.
Because of changes in funding, the grant program had to be modified and will now go by the name of Summer Hawk Tuition Grant II for the summer.
“Due to changes in [state] funding this year, it was not possible to continue funding the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant at its previous level,” said Associate Provost Lon Moeller in an email statement to The Daily Iowan.
“The university had the choice of canceling the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant or revising the grant and reducing the number of semester hours that the tuition grant will cover,” Moeller said in the statement. “We chose to revise the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant rather than to end the program.”
There were a few main changes made to the program that students should be aware of for this summer’s session.
Students will now be required to declare their intention to use the grant for this summer no later than March 1. For resident students, the grant will cover up to six semester hours of tuition, and for nonresident students enrolled in five to six semester hours, the grant will cover the difference between nonresident and resident tuition, according to the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant website.
“I feel like it was last-minute notice for all the students involved to learn about the changes,” said resident UI student Kaylee Hasek. “I had planned on utilizing it as much as I could next summer, but who knows what it will be like next summer.”
The change in the number of semester hours covered by the grant was significant from what was originally offered under the old program.
“I feel like the number of hours isn’t enough,” said nonresident UI student Maggie Coutré. “As an out-of-state student, I don’t feel like it’d be worth it to stay here for a summer to just take such few classes.”
Moeller said the changes in the number of hours had to do with the data UI administrators found after they reviewed how students have used the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant.
“They found that last year, students enrolled in an average of 6.6 semester hours and that students who enrolled in more semester hours were more likely to earn lower grades or drop one or more of their summer courses,” Moeller said in an email statement to The Daily Iowan. “That review led to the change of semester hours covered by the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant II to six hours, with the possibility of nine hours based on a student-petition process.”
There is a petition process available for students that would allow them to apply the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant II program with up to as many as nine semester hours if they demonstrate a specific need.
Even with the changes to the program, many still find the program to be useful and beneficial.
“The Summer Hawk Tuition Grant II will benefit students who are looking to stay on track to graduate on a timely basis, which helps students to save money,” Moeller said in the statement.
Students interested in using the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant II still have time to declare their intention of using the grant.
“I’ll still use the program even with the changes,” Hasek said. “I mean, free credits are still free credits, even if it’s fewer of them.”