A Promise We Should Keep
by Governor Bob Wise

It's time for West Virginia to stop accepting the notion that we can't move out of 49th or 50th place in measures of economics and education. We can. But it will take bold action. That's why I intend to fight, and fight hard, to honor the pledge that was made to West Virginia students when the Legislature passed the PROMISE Scholarship Program in 1999.

The Charleston Daily Mail on Tuesday described this as a "new entitlement for the middle class." That's dead wrong. No one is entitled to a PROMISE Scholarship. It has to be earned.

By putting forth a reward for achievement, we're saying to students that hard work, playing by the rules, and meeting tough expectations will earn them the opportunity to attend college. That's a lesson that should ring throughout our educational system.

West Virginia has failed to produce the kind of educated populace that is the key to participation in the new, information-based economy. Only 16.3 percent of our adults over 25 have a college degree - compared to 21.7 percent in the Southeastern states and 24.4 percent in the U.S. as a whole. These cold, hard facts are staring in the face of high tech industries looking for new locations.

The PROMISE Scholarship alone won't solve this problem. But we must make college attainable for every student who has the potential to succeed. Many students from hardworking middle-class families are discouraged from college because their family incomes are too high to qualify for needs-based aid, but too low to cover escalating costs. We can't afford to lose even one.

West Virginia can, and will, learn from the experience of other states that have established merit programs in their higher education systems. Georgia's HOPE program, the first state plan to distribute merit scholarships to all who qualified, has been studied in depth. It led to increased college attendance and improvements in test scores - and has not fueled grade inflation. I will present to the Legislature a PROMISE Scholarship proposal that includes a funding plan and an implementation schedule.

I'm willing to listen to suggestions from legislators, educators, students, parents and taxpayers about changes that will make the PROMISE Scholarship work. If more students take advantage of the scholarship than we project, it will require a bigger investment. But that's an investment I'll be happy to endorse - an investment in the future of our children and our state.

The voters of West Virginia last November elected a governor whose number one commitment was to make good on this promise. Every time I visit a school, or meet with parents, they ask me if I'm going to follow through.

I will. It's a promise.

Bob Wise
Governor

Contact Information
Lisa DeFrank-Cole, Ed.D. ● Executive Director
PROMISE Scholarship Program, Suite 700 ● 1018 Kanawha Boulevard, E. ● Charleston, West Virginia 25301
Telephone: 304.558.4417 ● Toll Free: 1.877.WVPROMISE ● Fax: 304.558.3264 ● E-mail: promise@hepc.wvnet.edu

©2003 State of West Virginia. All rights reserved.
Site maintained by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission