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COLUMBUS, Ohio - Point Park University, a 3,500-student private, nonprofit school in downtown Pittsburgh, announced a new scholarship aimed at students from Ohio public colleges where their programs have been eliminated or restructured due to budget cuts and state Senate Bill 1. The Buckeye Fresh Start Scholarship offers merit awards ranging from $16,000 to $22,000 per year, plus an additional $5,000 annual scholarship for students transferring from Ohio institutions affected by program cuts, according to a Point Park statement. Point Park, which describes itself as Pittsburgh’s most transfer-friendly institution, said it will additionally expedite transfer credit evaluations, provide personalized transfer counselors, and assign academic success coaches to ensure a seamless transition. “The widespread elimination and restructuring of programs at Ohio’s public universities has significantly increased stress and uncertainty for students,” said Marlin Collingwood, vice president of enrollment at Point Park. “The Buckeye Fresh Start Scholarship is our response to keep students’ dreams affordable and achievable. We’re offering generous transfer scholarships alongside dedicated counseling and academic success coaching to help affected students graduate on time and continue their educational journeys with confidence.” SB 1, which went into effect in June, implements dozens of changes to public colleges and universities, including a requirement that if a school confers an average of fewer than five degrees a year over any three-year period, then the program must be eliminated. Both SB 1’s sponsor, state Sen. Jerry Cirino of Lake County, and an Ohio Department of Higher Education spokesman said that the requirement was expected to begin this fall. READ MORE: SB 1 is forcing Ohio universities to cut dozens of degree programs Ohio University announced the elimination of 11 undergraduate programs because of SB 1, and had intended to ask the Department of Higher Education for permission to merge other low-enrollment programs into other academic areas. The University of Toledo also announced program cuts, in compliance with SB 1. Cleveland State University announced 22 undergraduate and graduate degrees were on the chopping block, but said it was the result of shifts that needed to be made for budgetary reasons. Cuyahoga Community College said 30 associate’s degree programs were going to be cut. Despite the offer from Point Park, the Ohio schools said they would continue to offer the programs for students who were already enrolled. The schools said they were only suspending enrollment for new students. But Collingwood, the Point Park administrator, said that Ohio students could find a supportive environment for their academic pursuits in Pennsylvania. “Many of Point Park’s innovative academic programs in business, communications, the sciences and the arts are thriving, even as similar programs are being cut or de-emphasized in Ohio,” he said. “We’re committed to helping these students find a supportive academic home and graduate on schedule despite the abrupt challenges they’ve faced.” This isn’t the first school that is working to entice Ohio students. Eastern Michigan University has taken out social media ads to attract Ohioans. Its messages have countered the culture wars issues that SB 1 attacks. SB 1 prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion at public universities, and requires professors to adhere to “intellectual diversity,” which could mean they must respond to students with disproven conspiracy theories about science or history, even if it takes up time during classroom discussion. Michigan does not have a higher education law like SB 1. The state has a Democratic governor, a Democratic-controlled state senate, a GOP-controlled house and generally has more moderate and left-of-center politics. “At EMU, you’re free to be you,” said an EMU ad that ran in June. “No out of state tuition fees.”
