Is this fair to County taxpayers and county students who are not allowed to compete for these scholarships?
Yavapai Community College annually places about $800,000 in a fund to support what are described as “institutional scholarships.” However, it appears there is not a fair opportunity for all students to apply and be selected for one of these scholarships.
When questioned during the January Governing Board meeting, the College Administration admitted that around $600,000 of those scholarships went mostly to athletes. (See Video). Moreover, most of the $600,000 went to the athletic program to provide scholarships for student athletes recruited outside Yavapai County.
In data obtained by the Blog via a public records request, the Community College reported that it spent $598,052 in scholarships for athletes recruited in 2017. This compares with a total award of tuition scholarships to athletes of $405,170 in 2010 (192,882 more than in 2017).
Isn’t it time for the Governing Board to seriously discuss whether the practice of setting aside 75% of all institutional scholarships for athletes is a fair use of student tuition? One hopes that this discussion will take place at the February governing board meeting.