Miami of Ohio Scholarships for Continuing Students
Music is Janell Roeper's passion, one that she wants to share one day soon as a teacher to inner-city, middle school children.
Bridging the Financial Gap
Miami launches new $100 million scholarship campaign
By Donna Boen '83 MTSC '96
Janell Roeper is paying her own way through college, right down to the soap for her socks.
The junior music education major from Grafton, Ohio, is bouncy and positive, but she doesn't downplay how difficult it is to stay in school.
She works as much as she can every semester. Last spring that meant serving as an RA in Morris Hall while also reporting to the Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Amos Music Library. At the same time, she took 24 credit hours and played trumpet in the marching band. That added up to 10 hours of rehearsal a week and seven 12-hour Saturdays with her bandmates during football season.
She thought she'd have to quit marching band to accept a job off campus this semester. But band director Stephen Lytle helped her find a music department scholarship.
"I never expected someone to go out of their way for me like that," Roeper says. "It's amazing to me to hear these people who I look up to say, 'I have faith in you. How can we get you to stay at Miami?' "
Power of scholarships
Scholarships impact what students can do in so many ways, says Miami President David Hodge. He knows their power, as they allowed him to be the first in his family to attend college.
"It's about getting in the front door. It's about expanding the opportunity," Hodge says.
Because scholarships are so important, the university is launching The Miami Promise Scholarship Campaign this fall. The $100 million, five-year campaign seeks to involve alumni and friends in bridging the financial gaps faced by an increasing percentage of college-bound students and their families, says Tom Herbert, vice president for university advancement.
To demonstrate its own commitment to The Miami Promise Scholarship Campaign , the university has introduced three matching gift programs that encourage donors to create new endowed and four-year expendable recruitment scholarships. To learn more about the scholarship campaign, visit ForLoveandHonor.org/Scholarships or contact Miami's office of development at 513-529-1230 or MUDevelopment@ MiamiOH.edu.
Impact of increased support
For those students with financial need in Miami's fall 2014 entering freshman class, the average unmet need for one year is nearly $14,000. When Miami's Office of Student Financial Assistance adds up all the unmet financial need, it equals almost $19.4 million.
Miami has increased scholarship support by nearly 78 percent in the past five years, awarding approximately $56 million in scholarships last year.
"We have achieved considerable momentum by involving our alumni and friends in the support of current and future Miami students and have already received more than $11.6 million in scholarship support since the start of 2014," Herbert says.
Brent Shock '91, director of Student Financial Assistance, understands the impact of that increased support.
"I have never forgotten what it's like for students who are uncertain if they are going to be able to return semester to semester due to finances. I really was worried and stressed every semester about how I was going to pay for tuition and fees."
About two-thirds of the fall 2013 entering class received a grant or scholarship from the university, Shock says.
Need remains
Unfortunately, despite the increase in scholarship dollars, need remains.
Declining support from the state is a major factor. Ohio is among the bottom 10 states for support of higher education. That shifts the burden of cost to students' families and to universities, says David Creamer, vice president for finance and business services.
In the early 1980s, Ohio paid 37 percent of the university's total budget. State support is now at 9.2 percent for the Oxford campus.
Miami shows as an expensive school in federal charts, but it is also efficient. In fact, it is ranked as the second most efficient national university by U.S. News & World Report.
"Given the high-quality experience, terrific outcomes, and a stunning campus, most people assume that we are a well-funded university and are surprised to learn that our funding per student is actually less than the average of our peer groups, nearly $2,000 less," Hodge says. "However, we do more with our resources because of our focus, commitment, and innovation."
Affordable excellence
To continue to achieve what Hodge calls "affordable excellence," he says the university and its alumni need to press forward on several fronts.
First, Miami needs to continue to limit tuition increases, preferably to no more than 2 percent per year, he says. This will make Miami more affordable for entering students while reassuring families of current students, he adds.
Second, the university needs to increase the size of its endowment and gift giving, he says, pointing to #MoveInMiami as an example of what alumni, faculty, and staff can accomplish together. A social media fundraising campaign held on this year's freshman move-in day, #MoveInMiami saw 3,200 donors contribute more than $500,000 in less than 24 hours.
While Miami seeks support for all types of scholarships, with this new campaign, it is prioritizing need, merit, and diversity. It has placed particular emphasis on recruitment scholarships, which are offered to prospective students, remain with students throughout their college careers, and allow for direct connections between donors and students.
The results
Shock considers himself privileged to see firsthand how scholarships make a difference. "Students come in the Financial Assistance Office heavy-hearted, sometimes in tears, and they leave with huge grins on their faces. They know that they're set for another year at Miami."
The recipients are extremely appreciative, if Janell Roeper is any indication.
"I'm getting a better education and making better friends here than I honestly believe I would anywhere else," she says. "The rough times are hard, but the good times overcome everything, whether it's sitting in the courtyard, throwing around a football with your friends, or staying up until 3 in the morning trying to finish your music theory project."
Donna Boen '83 MTSC '96 is editor of Miamian.
Source: https://www.miamialum.org/?pgid=7568&gid=1&cid=26353
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