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Kendall scholarships aid transfer students

Donors and foundations are recognizing a growing need

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Seven scholarship recipients honored at a luncheon at the Universities at Shady Grove last week represent what educators say is a growing need for financial aid for students who are transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions.

The students, three at Montgomery College and four at the Universities at Shady Grove, are recipients of Clifford and Camille Kendall Endowed Scholarships.

The scholarships, named for Clifford M. Kendall, a member of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents and his wife, Camille, are awarded to students who begin their studies at Montgomery College and transfer to baccalaureate degree programs at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville. USG is a regional center where seven of the university system’s 13 institutions offer degrees.

‘‘We have been on a mission to increase transfer scholarships,” Montgomery College President Charlene R. Nunley said. ‘‘The Kendalls have been one of our very, very best and first partners for doing that.”

Others are recognizing the need for transfer scholarships. Last week the Lansdowne, Va.-based Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced plans to partner with three public universities and five private colleges to provide $27 million for transfer scholarships.

The Kendall scholarships cover the full cost of tuition for first- and second-year Montgomery College students and for third- and fourth-year USG students. They are awarded to full-time students with at least a 3.0 grade point average who demonstrate financial need.

‘‘People don’t realize it, but there is a large group of people here who do need financial support,” said Clifford M. Kendall, a Potomac resident, who was a member of the USG Board of Advisors from 2000 to 2003.

Kendall said the college experiences he and his wife had led them to establish the scholarships.

To learn more About scholarships and the Transfer Scholarship Guide, go toclick here. About the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, go to the foundation Web site.

‘‘I transferred into [the University of] Maryland from a small college and lived at home and worked full time,” he said. ‘‘She lived at home and went to a small college on scholarship.”

The demand for higher education will increase by more than 20 percent by 2010, college officials project. Much of demand will come from low-income and ethnic and racial minority students.

Because USG offers programs only for graduate students and undergraduates in their junior or senior years, most of its students are transfers. Seventy-five percent transfer from Montgomery College, which last year transferred more than 4,300 students to colleges in 43 states.

When students transfer from Montgomery College, they face higher tuition costs and few opportunities for financial aid, said Stewart L. Edelstein, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove.

Average yearly tuition for a full-time Montgomery College student is $3,700 versus $7,821 at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The scholarships follow students from Montgomery College to USG, as long as students remain eligible.

‘‘It takes the financial strain off the family,” said Toneka Ogburn, a scholarship recipient and mother of three from Kensington who will graduate in May with a degree she earned in education from Towson University by attending USG. ‘‘It gives you more freedom. You’re not burdened down with where is the money coming from? It’s easier to stay focused on my studies. I think it’s increased my academic achievement.”

John Arcilla, 21, of Clarksburg will become the first person in his family to graduate from college when he receives an accounting degree from the University of Maryland, College Park’s program at USG in May.

‘‘I’ve never seen myself graduating from college,” he said. ‘‘My other option was join the Air Force and go from there to college.”

Arcilla’s message to high school graduates wondering how to pay for college?

‘‘There is hope out there.”