New Inver Hills Grant Ties Financial Aid to Students' Academic Performance

Maintain a 2.0 grade point average, regularly meet with an academic advisor and complete at least two-thirds of your courses.

It sounds like the formula for a modest, but successful college career. But for Inver Hills Community College, it’s also the requirements behind a new student grant program called “Finish What You Start.”

This fall, the college will roll out the grant program for 150 incoming students who meet the program’s prerequisites. In their first semester at the school, the students will receive a $250 voucher for textbooks. The next three subsequent semesters, students are eligbible for an additional $500 each semester for book vouchers, tuition or fees assistance, as long as they continue to meet the academic performance standards laid out for them in the grant.

The purpose of the grant is to promote both accountability and affordability, according to Tadael Emiru, director of the college’s Access and Opportunity Center.

“There are quite a number of students who face enormous financial challenges which prevent them from moving forward. The college hopes that this grant, while it may not completely eliminate the financial challenges students face, it would at least help ease the burden,” Emiru said.

“As part of the requirements, students are expected to meet the college’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy,” Emiru added. “This specific requirement helps ensure that the grant recipients stay focused on their academic goals and complete their programs successfully.”

In order to receive the grant, students must also be eligible for the federal Pell Grant, which is given based on financial need. For that reason, Emiru and Inver Hills Community College Financial Aid Director Steve Yang said, the “Finish What You Start” grant will be going to students who have the most significant financial needs. Because of their socio-economic challenges, Yang said, those students also traditionally have a lower rate of academic success.

The affordability of a college education is inextricably linked to academic success, Yang pointed out. The longer a student takes to graduate, he said, the more expensive the students’ bill for education.

“One of the things that we’ve thrown around for probably the last year is affordability,” Yang said. We’ve wanted our students to be able to complete their programs in a timely manner, and we thought the best way to do that would be to give students incentives to stay on track to graduate.”

Students are also encouraged to connect with support communities and staff through the grant’s eligibility prerequisites. Students must participate in one of several ‘student success’ programs in order to be eligible for the grant. Once they’ve received the grant, the student must also seek help if he or she runs into academic problems.

The support element of the grant is “critical,” Emiru said.

"Research shows that students who take advantage of campus resources tend to be more successful compared to others," Emiru said. 

For more information about the grant, click here.

Clarification: The $500 students are eligible to receive in the three subsequent semesters after they receive the grant can be used for book vouchers, tuition and fees assistance.