LBW Community College is instituting a new scholarship plan, increasing direct institutional support for students by 4.5 percent and bringing the total budgeted amount to more than $1 million.

 

“We thoroughly reviewed all LBW scholarships with the intention of maximizing several goals,” said LBWCC President Dr. Herb Riedel.

 

Those goals include assisting students, especially those who otherwise would not be able to attend; enhancing the quality of academics and student life; assisting in recruitment; and increasing enrollment, he said.

 

“We wanted to increase the overall number of students receiving scholarship support, focus more on need-based support, address the needs of non-traditional students, and emphasize the value of these scholarships.”

 

Beginning next academic year, several new scholarships will be available and additional awards will be made from those already in place, bringing the total available in scholarship funds to $1,014,370. The new plan includes:

• ·         New valedictorian and salutatorian scholarships for $3,500 to cover two semesters;
• ·         Creating 25 new academic scholarships for two semesters totaling $3,000 each;
• ·         Increasing technical scholarships to 25 for two semesters totaling $3,000 each;
• ·         Creating 20 new leadership scholarships valued at $1,000 for the span of two semesters;
• ·         Adding financial aid waivers for certificate programs to help bridge the gap between the student’s grant funding and the cost of tuition and fees; and
• ·         Adding 20 new non-traditional scholarships for $1,500 or $3,000, depending on the number of semesters covered. Students are considered non-traditional if they have been out of school for at least one year.

“This plan makes us more competitive with neighboring colleges, provides additional tools for our recruitment efforts, maintains our valued academic, performing arts and athletic programs, and makes our College as affordable as we can,” said Riedel.

 

In addition to the increased opportunities for scholarships, the College is working toward establishing an installment payment plan for tuition and hopes to have it available at the same time.

 

“Having an installment payment plan will help all students by keeping payments affordable,” he said.

 

Scholarship applications will be available after the first of the year for the next academic year through the College website at www.lbwcc.edu, or available in Student Services at any LBWCC location.  For more information, call 334-222-6591.