Innovative scholarship program wins award

Area part-time community college students can continue their education with a little financial help through the assistance of the University of Houston-Clear Lake Automatic Transfer Scholarship, a program that has received recognition from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. During the board’s Texas Transfer Success Conference, the program was awarded the Successful Transfer Enhancement Programs’ Gold Award in Best Practices in Transfer Enrollment Management.

Financing an education is a major concern for our students and one of the principal reasons students drop out of college,” explained UH-Clear Lake Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Yvette Bendeck. “With approximately 55 percent of our transfer students attending part-time, we wanted to create a scholarship program that did not automatically eliminate students from eligibility because they were unable to attend school on a full-time basis.”

The innovative program allows new, first-time UH-Clear Lake undergraduate students who are applying to the university form a community college or other university the opportunity to receive a scholarship. To be eligible, students must qualify for in-state tuition. Accepted transfer students coming to UH-Clear Lake with a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade point average who are registered for nine or more semester credit hours may be eligible for $1,000 paid at $500 for two consecutive fall/spring semesters. Students with a 2.75-2.99 cumulative transfer grade point average who are registered for nine or more semester hours may receive $800 paid at $400 per semester for two consecutive fall/spring semesters.

“University of Houston-Clear Lake is committed to student success,” added Bendeck. “It is an honor for the university to be recognized for its efforts in student success.”

For more information on the UH-Clear Lake Automatic Transfer Scholarship program, call 281-283-2480, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/scholarships or e-mail Assistant Director of Financial Aid Leslie Wells, wells@uhcl.edu.