By The Northwestern News Editorial Board
Universities have a duty to be honest with students about finances – and they have an even bigger duty to keep the promises they make to students hoping to obtain higher education.
But at Northwestern, a mysterious, longstanding system that reduces students’ scholarships has left students in the dark.
For years, a so-called “cap” on student participation scholarships that kicks in after a student’s first year here has put students in confusing, surprising and financially difficult places.
In this edition of the Northwestern News, our reporters took a comprehensive look at how this cap has affected students. Some students said they felt lured here by the promise of significant scholarships, only to have them taken away without warning during their second year.
Students who sign up to participate in programs like choir, theater, band, cheer-leading and other areas may be promised thousands of dollars for participating in these programs. But they may only receive a few hundred because, somehow, they “capped” out. Some may receive nothing at all.
This scholarship cap was created years ago, but no one has been able to tell us when. The very people who deal with student finances all day long say scholarships are the most complex parts of their jobs, and even they struggle to understand the cap system.
When students “cap out,” no one benefits. Students who were told they’d receive a certain amount of money suddenly have to take up second and third jobs, scrambling to pay bills much larger than they were told to expect.
Professors are put in awkward positions, too, as they try to explain the system to students in their programs.
And programs that offer participation scholarships suffer as well. Students may want to participate in these activities and obtain degrees in these fields. But when they find out they’re capped out and cannot afford the degree, they may have to change their plans – both for college and their future careers.
We do believe our administrators have our students’ best interests at heart. Therefore, we believe Northwestern administrators need to take immediate action to remedy this situation.
If the cap is to remain in place, administrators should design a way for students to figure out in advance whether they’ll “hit” the cap. The university should also consider how scholarships are applied.
Participation scholarships are tuition waivers; perhaps they could be applied first.
But the most important, necessary course of action is for administrators to consider raising or eliminating the cap. If our university doesn’t have the money it promises to give students, then it must stop making those promises – not pulling a “bait-and-switch” tactic.
Students have a duty in this as well. They need to voice their concerns to administrators and discuss how the cap has impacted them. Our administrators, including President Dr. Janet Cunningham, say they are always willing to hear from students. When students bring their concerns to administrators, change is more likely to occur. And that’s exactly what Northwestern needs.
Northwestern’s mission statement says the university “provides quality educational and cultural opportunities to learners with diverse needs by cultivating ethical leadership and service, critical thinking and fiscal responsibility.”
It’s time our university did those very things by explaining and changing this broken system.
Northwestern exists to better the world by educating people. Can it do that if it breaks its promises to them?