New scholarship program available at Southeast

A new scholarship program at Southeast Missouri State University aims to help more students with the rising cost associated with earning a degree, officials said.

The Copper Dome Scholarship Program is a comprehensive approach and offers stackable awards that grow in value from year to year -- with straightforward renewal criteria for students.

It also allows students to keep need-based aid they receive, including the federal Pell Grant, said Lenell Hahn, admissions director at Southeast.

And, all awards made to students enrolling for Fall 2018 will be honored, according to a university news release.

Hahn said the new program came about after several months of hard work, following research and conversations with students, parents and faculty about what was important to them.

Change was obviously necessary, Hahn said, since the old program served about 30 percent of students, versus the estimated 70 percent the Copper Dome program will help.

"We looked at where we can serve students in a variety of combinations related to ACT and GPA, and reward them for that work," Hahn said by phone.

Eligibility for the Copper Dome scholarship program is based on a student's application for admission, Hahn said, and students are automatically considered if they apply by Dec. 1.

"With all of the scholarships, there are varying ACT/GPA combinations which will impact the amount a student qualifies for," Hahn said.

At semo.edu/scholarships, a chart shows students how much scholarship money they can qualify for under the Copper Dome program, depending on ACT score and GPA, she added.

An ACT score of 25 and a 2.75 high-school GPA will qualify a student for $1,000, for example, and an ACT score of 27 and GPA of 3.90 or higher would earn a student up to $5,000 for the academic year.

Superscoring is a new feature, Hahn said -- that takes the highest individual section scores of the ACT or SAT, across different test dates, and combines them into a "super" composite score.

And stackability is an option now, she said.

"We used to say, 'You can have this award but not that one,' and we've opened that," Hahn said, adding the Pell Grant will still stack with other scholarships, up to the cost of attendance.

Debbie Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success at Southeast, said in the release the program will set students on a path with graduation as the clear goal.

Southeast tuition and fees for Missouri undergraduates have increased by 7.8 percent over the past five years, Below said, and since the scholarship awards will grow each year to keep pace with increases, students will see benefit.

"We recognize that nearly 50 percent of all new students qualify for the Federal Pell Grant and/or the Access Missouri need-based grant," Below said in the release. "Our new program was designed to add Southeast scholarships to the grants they receive to reduce their financial burden and cumulative student debt."

Below said the university has a goal of retaining at least 80 percent of first-time, full-time students, and graduating at least 60 percent of the Southeast student population.

Another change is to the former Midwest Achievement Award, Hahn said. This scholarship offers qualified out-of-state students the difference between in-state and out-of-state fees, and has been renamed the Redhawks Achievement Award.

"It just has a name change," Hahn said. The criteria is the same, and with a high enough high-school GPA, Hahn said, students can receive the award without testing.

Qualifying international students receive the same award, the International Student Achievement Award.

The new program is available to students enrolling at Southeast for the fall 2019 semester. More information is at semo.edu/admissions.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630