Financial Aid from the State of Ohio
A long-planned revision in state need-based aid programs, along with a policy decision to support institutional subsidies and a cap on tuition increases at public colleges and universities over financial aid directed to students, resulted in a much reduced palette of financial aid programs from the state of Ohio for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 academic years. The state now offers a single need-based financial aid program to students in the public and independent sectors. The one merit-based program no longer offers grants to new students, but will continue until existing recipients complete their previous eligibility. Finally, there are five grant programs offering awards to students in certain specific categories for varied public purposes. All state aid programs are intended to cover part of tuition costs only, unlike federal aid that can be used to cover room, board, books, and other expenses beyond tuition.

Need-based Aid

The Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), which gave its first awards in the fall of 2006, is the state’s need-based stu- dent aid program. A student whose family earns less than $75,000 annually and whose estimated family contribution, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Education, is less than $2,190 is eligible for an award. New policies for 2009–10 and 2010–11 on this aid program include:

o Only students who attend a public or nonprofit college are eligible;

o A student whose Pell grant completely covers tuition, books, and transportation costs does not receive an OCOG award (practically speaking, this means that no student at a public community or technical college, no matter how needy, receives a state need-based grant);

o Awards for all eligible students in each sector are the same: at nearly all independent colleges, a full-time student
receives $2,256 for two semesters or three quarters of study in 2009-10 and $1,848 in 2010-11; and part-time students receive pro-rated amounts depending on their course loads. At most public four-year campuses, the maximum awards are $1,008 in 2009-10 and $888 in 2010-11.

Its phase-in complete, OCOG replaces the previous Ohio Instructional Grant, even for those students who started college before OCOG was enacted.

Merit-based Aid

The Ohio Academic Scholarship received no funding in the current two-year budget, but the state is supporting recipients with remaining eligibility in their four-year commitment at a slightly reduced level of $2,000 annually, using funds appropriated for OCOG.

Aid Based on Neither Need nor Merit

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship, funded to give its first awards in the 2008-09 academic year, is designed to encourage study and degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Awards for undergraduate study at participating public and independent colleges range from $1,500 to about $5,000. Campuses compete for Choose Ohio First funds, and there is no guarantee a particular college or university will have funds to offer any aid under this program. A similar Teach Ohio program, offering incentive grants for teachers to stay in high-need areas of the state after graduation, begins on a modest scale in the 2010-11 academic year.

Categorical grants include the Ohio War Orphans Scholarship, the Ohio Safety Officers Memorial Fund, and the Ohio National Guard Scholarship. War Orphans and Safety Officers grants go to the survivors of police officers, firefighters, soldiers and others who die in the line of duty. National Guard scholarships serve as an incentive for enlistment. The awards are equal to the total amount of public college tuition and fees, or an equivalent dollar amount at an independent college. Repealed by the most recent budget law is the Student Choice Grant, which for nearly a quarter century had offered incentive grants to students attending private nonprofit colleges to stay in Ohio for their education.

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