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Mostly cloudy skies. High 87F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: June 19, 2024 @ 12:46 am
Roane State Foundation executive director Scott Niermann spoke to the Campbell County Rotary Club on Tuesday.
Roane State Foundation executive director Scott Niermann spoke to the Campbell County Rotary Club on Tuesday.
Two years ago, the Roane State Foundation had 80 scholarship applications from people with Campbell County addresses.
Less than a fourth of those applicants received the scholarship.
“We only had the funds to do 14 scholarship recipients,” said Roane State Foundation executive director Scott Niermann. “OK, so maybe 20 of those people didn’t have financial need, but what about the other 40? So there’s a lot of need.”
Niermann spoke to the Campbell County Rotary Club.
“One of my primary tasks when I first came in 2018 was to explain to folks that even with Tennessee Promise — and I love Representative Powers but he’s not here — when the politicians say free college, it’s not free, right? It’s not completely free,” Niermann said. “It’s not everything, right? So not only do they have transportation needs to a commuter school, but they also have major hurdles that may keep them from finishing that degree. And so that can include basic needs and security. We have an emergency aid program. The campuses have food pantries. Housing insecurity has been a growing issue, even nationwide, particularly with students. We think about food needs, and we think about K-12. And I remember, even in my lifetime, when they started serving breakfast in the schools at about 7:30 in the morning because you can’t think on an empty stomach. Well, that doesn’t change when you’re in grade 13 and 14.”
The meeting took place at LaFollette Methodist Church.
“We did determine a few years ago through institutional research, just looking at students, going back six or seven years, that get a Roane State Foundation scholarship, so that implies our methodology for selecting who gets that money, that those students, if they receive at least $1,000, they’re more than twice as likely to graduate and to graduate on time,” he said. “On time for an associate’s is within three years. Our methodology is based upon need, first and foremost. Unless the donor puts in the agreement with us that it’s got to be, I mean, we have a minimum 2.5 GPA. They’ve got to be enrolled, full or part-time, and be in good standing with the school, but aside from that, if there’s no other restriction the donor puts in place — perhaps, they may say Campbell County only or Campbell and if you don’t find somebody in Campbell, then another county or I really want this to go to an education major but you could also do business — we try not to overly restrict it because at the end of the day, most donors want to support the county that they’re in, and there’s plenty of need.”
The meeting happened on Tuesday.
“So of those 80 applicants, how many of them haven’t yet finished because they could only afford one class at a time? That $1,000 can be make or break,” he said. “We’re actually trying to drive that up to $1,200 or $1,500 with inflation and gas and the things that that money can go for. Meanwhile, the school is trying to lower book costs.”
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