A national study showed that public and private universities have increased their amount of merit-based scholarships but decreased the number of need-based scholarships, making higher education less attainable for low-income students.
But numbers show the opposite is true for OU — at least it is for the two years of available data after the university changed its scholarship-tracking software.
The annual study, conducted by the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy institute, determined the trend after analyzing data over two years.
OU categorizes its scholarships into three categories — merit, merit-blended and need.
During the 2011-12 school year, 73 percent of OU’s need and merit-based scholarships were solely need-based — a number that increased to almost 80 percent the following school year.
“I believe that the data provided clearly shows that our programs are doing a good job at providing sources of funding to students who demonstrate financial need,” said Valerie Miller, director of student financial aid and scholarships.
Merit scholarships are determined by standardized test scores and high school grade point averages for incoming freshmen. University grade point averages determine merit scholarships for current OU students. Financial need is determined by results of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
OU officials argue that they don’t use solely merit-based scholarships to attract students, said Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management.
“It is not our focus and it is not in our process,” Cornell said.
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