Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) News Brief

Need Money to Go to College?

Here is another financial aid option to help you achieve your higher education goals.

The Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance to students enrolling in an approved non-credit certificate program leading to apprenticeships, employment, licensure, or job skill enhancement only at a participating Maryland Community College.

The Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship has a maximum award amount of $2,000 annually and may be used at a participating community college to solely pay for, and not to exceed tuition, mandatory fees, and associated costs of attendance, to the extent the tuition, fees, and associated costs of attendance have not been met through another State grant or scholarship or employer.

SUPPORTING TRANSFER SUCCESS IN MARYLAND THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED LESSONS  

Transfer students in Maryland complete bachelor’s degrees at notably lower rates than their counterparts starting in four-year institutions. Improving transfer and transfer students’ outcomes is essential for meeting Maryland’s degree attainment goal of having at least 55% of all Marylanders hold at least an associate’s degree by 2025. MHEC’s new policy brief, "Supporting Transfer Success: Evidence-based Lessons and Recommendations" explores the challenges transfer students experience and provides actionable policy recommendations for various stakeholders.    Untangling the challenges students face when attempting to transfer college credits is a difficult policy issue, but collaboration between institutions and clear policies are at the heart of an Inside Higher Ed blog post, written by MHEC's Assistant Secretary of Academic Affairs Dr. Emily Dow and MHEC's Assistant Attorney General Soma R. Kedia, Esq. MHEC has created broad reform of transfer procedures and standards, while helping to understand the barriers that need to be eliminated.  As in many other states, Maryland’s historic statewide transfer regulations have reflected the confusion that is often engendered by transfer: disorganized, often unclear and lacking concrete processes. Read the entire Inside Higher Ed Blog Post.

A Note from Maryland Higher Education Secretary Dr. James Fielder

How Maryland is using a scholarship to support transfer students.

The Tackling Transfer Policy Advisory Board recently highlighted Maryland as one of only three states to offer financial aid that is specifically targeted for transfer students. Established in 2014, Maryland’s 2+2 Transfer Scholarship is designed to financially support students transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions in the state.

Students who obtain an associate degree from a Maryland community college before transfer and earn a 2.5 GPA or higher are eligible for awards of $1,000 to $2,000 per year, with higher amounts going to those pursuing workforce shortage fields of study (e.g., teaching, STEM). Demand for the scholarship requires that the applicant pool be ranked on academic merit and need. There is a waiting list each year for the award.

To better understand the recipient pool and its postsecondary outcomes, MHEC's Dr. Yuxin Lin, Associate Director of Research and Policy Analysis, conducted a preliminary analysis of more than 500 students who received the scholarship since 2014. Several positive findings provide insight into possible ways to strengthen the program. Those findings are highlighted in a recent Inside Higher Ed Blog Post.