Iowa schools offer Iowa-only aid

CEDAR RAPIDS - Attention Iowa high school students: the colleges and universities in this state — all of them — want you.

And they are willing to pay to get you.

They're debuting new scholarships, grants and marketing campaigns all geared toward Iowa's shrinking pool of homegrown prospects.

Cornell College in Mount Vernon, for example, announced this week a new 'promise grant' for Iowans worth at least $20,000 a year, or $80,000 over four years.

'I would say, certainly, that the number of students to go around has declined in the past few years,' said Colleen Murphy, vice president of enrollment and dean of admissions for Cornell.

Those shifting demographics, in part, are behind the recent emergence of incentives for Iowa's high school graduates to continue their education in state — either at a private or public institution.

Demographics and money, of course.

The Board of Regents over the summer approved a new funding model for Iowa's public universities that proposes tying 60 percent of state allocations to in-state enrollment. Because Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa have a greater proportion of students from Iowa, the change could mean a loss of tens of millions for the University of Iowa.

In response, UI administrators have said they plan to grow the institution, specifically enrolling more in-state students. The university this fall has blitzed the state with media messages and invitations to campus.

Over the weekend, in fact, nearly 3,000 prospective students and family members made the trip to Iowa City for the biggest ever visit day in UI history. Administrators also have announced new scholarships specific to Iowa students.

But so have the corridor's private schools, including Mount Mercy University and Coe College in Cedar Rapids and Cornell College in Mount Vernon.

'The Iowa student has always been very important to us,' Murphy said of Cornell. 'And we want to make sure we continue to reach out to bright Iowa students who would be a good fit.'

Cornell's new 'promise grant,' which will be available to incoming students next fall, offers qualified Iowans between $20,000 and $25,000 a year. The grants are based solely on place of residence, and student qualifications are reviewed through the admissions process like any other applicant, Murphy said.

'This is more of a grant, just because we want to attract more Iowa students,' she said.

Cornell doesn't at this time have a limit on the number of resident grants it can dole out.

'We are hoping to grow by about 10 students from Iowa,' Murphy said. 'So if it becomes very popular, we might have to set a ceiling. But there is not one now.'

Cornell reported a fall enrollment this year of 1,073, down slightly from 1,125 in 2013. Its student body represents 45 states and 19 countries, with 17 percent coming from Iowa.

The school's goal is to grow its Iowa student numbers by 20 percent.

'I would say higher education is definitely competitive right now,' Murphy said. 'We all want the best fit students for us.'

Like Cornell, Mount Mercy and Coe recently introduced new aid programs available only to Iowans. Coe's 'Kohawk Corridor award' is just for applicants from Linn and Johnson counties. Mount Mercy's new Catherine McAuley Scholarship is for resident students with family incomes under $45,000, said Terri Crumley, dean of admissions for Mount Mercy.

There currently are 24 students attending Mount Mercy on that scholarship, which became available in February and covers the full cost of tuition — $27,010, Crumley said.

'We want to make sure families understand that private colleges in Iowa are affordable,' she said. 'And we do hope it will increase the number of students who will come.'

Mount Mercy's total enrollment of 1,762 increased by just one student this year over last year. But, Crumley said, the university actually saw a slight decrease in traditional students that was offset by a bump in its adult accelerated and graduate admissions.

Nationally, college enrollment has been declining, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

'Students feel like private higher education is too expensive,' Crumley said. 'But, in a lot of cases, it's actually cheaper.'