The Virginia Informer
The Virginia Informer
Gateway has lofty ambitions
Program to provide low-income students opportunity to graduate
By Nick Fitzgerald, News Editor
During a press conference held on August 26, 2005, new College president Gene R. Nichol unveiled the “Gateway William & Mary” (GWM) plan. This initiative would allow all academically-qualified Virginians, whose families earn less than $40,000 per year, to graduate debt free with a Bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary. President Nichol felt that GWM was a very necessary step in the right direction, and was quoted at the August press conference as saying, “It is at the core of what a public university needs to do and at the center of what a great university needs to be.” Nichol quoted Jefferson in saying that “worth and genius [be] sought from every condition of life.”
During a press conference held on August 26, 2005, new College president Gene R. Nichol unveiled the “Gateway William & Mary” (GWM) plan. This initiative would allow all academically-qualified Virginians, whose families earn less than $40,000 per year, to graduate debt free with a Bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary. President Nichol felt that GWM was a very necessary step in the right direction, and was quoted at the August press conference as saying, “It is at the core of what a public university needs to do and at the center of what a great university needs to be.” Nichol quoted Jefferson in saying that “worth and genius [be] sought from every condition of life.”
How does one qualify for GWM? The program is set to begin in the fall of 2006 for incoming freshmen; according to the GWM website, nothing except having a household income of more than $40,000 per year will stop a prospective student from becoming a member of the program. “Virginia students whose family income level is less than $40,000 per year will qualify for a Gateway grant that covers all unmet financial need. Where federal or private loans previously would have been necessary in order to finance an education, the Gateway grant will eliminate the need to assume any debt.” Assuming, of course, the student in question meets other academic and extracurricular standards that William & Mary sets for all of its applicants, they “automatically will be considered.” At the press conference, President Nichol asserted that applying for GWM will not affect a student’s overall admission consideration, nor will it affect need-based aid which would otherwise go to students above the $40,000 marker. Ed Irish, the College’s director of financial aid, explained that the College’s stance on aid is not “Gateway or nothing.” He said that students who do not qualify for GWM but do for other types of financial aid will not be affected; the only difference is that GWM guarantees the student a debt-free graduation, other aid does not.
Payment for the program is to come from a mix of state, federal, and college funds, both public and private (e.g., grants and donations), and will cost approximately $4,000,000 per year to fully implement. The program is set up to ensure that students need not take out loans to cover their expenses, so that they might graduate debt-free. This allows them the ability to move on to graduate school or the job market without the financial burden of college loans.
As far as a yearly breakdown of expenses is concerned, GWM promises to cover all tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation, and even “personal items” for one academic year. Mr. Irish described “personal items” as things like a pizza, a movie ticket, toothpaste, soap, etc. The amount for tuition, fees, and room and board—roughly $14,114 per undergraduate year per student—combined with the other expenses previously listed, would make up the total cost.
In order to ensure that the program is equitably administered, a year-by-year assessment of any GWM student’s financial standing is required. Any taxable income a student’s family receives up to one calendar year prior to the academic year in which the student wishes to apply via GWM will be taken into consideration. These things include any adjusted gross income, child support, etc. A student who goes from unemployment to creating a new source of income for himself (i.e., getting a job) will be considerably less likely to receive GWM aid the following academic year. This is congruent with all other need-based aid programs managed by the College of William & Mary.
As far as enrollment, it is estimated that approximately 300 (approximately 5% of) William & Mary students would right now be qualified for this program. Nichol hopes to increase this to 600 by the year 2012.
Gateway William & Mary looks to equitably offer low-income, academically qualified Virginia students the chance to graduate from the College. It is certainly a controversial program with admirable goals. Only time will tell if the program will be worth the high costs.
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