Extra letters lead to denial of federal aid

NWACC’s Upward Bound program likely will shut down

Extra letters of support led to the rejection of a $1.3 million, five-year grant application from Northwest Arkansas Community College that would have paid for the continuation of a program helping low-income students prepare for college, a school official said.

Letters from high school administrators pushed the grant application for what’s known as the Upward Bound program beyond a 65-page limit imposed by the U.S. Department of Education, said Marcus Williams, the college’s director of grants.

The Northwest Arkansas Community College program has 60 high school students who on Saturdays receive academic preparation and financial aid counseling as well as go on field trips to explore higher education opportunities, Williams said. Grant money also pays for supplies such as computers and calculators, he added.

“A lot of those students won’t have an opportunity to participate and get the college experience anyplace else,” Williams said.

The refusal to consider the college’s request for $257,500 in yearly funding fits what one national advocate described as an unusual number of Upward Bound grant applications rejected

“A lot of those students won’t have an opportunity to participate and get the college experience anyplace else.” — Marcus Williams, NWACC’s director of grants

by federal authorities for procedural reasons.

“We, as an organization, have an interest in protecting programs and students who are being served,” said Kimberly Jones, vice president for public policy and communications with the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Council for Opportunity in Education. She said the number of applications rejected from consideration has been “startling.”

The Associated Press has reported Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in a memo late last month, said department officials may suggest page limits and formatting standards but they can no longer use those suggestions as a basis to reject grant applications.

Jones said her group is working with lawmakers to help programs like those at Northwest Arkansas Community College expected to shut down because of a lack of funds.

Williams said the college found out a little over a month ago its application had been rejected. He said he expects the program to stop by the end of September.

It’s unknown when the college might try to resume an Upward Bound program, he said.

“It all depends on when they release another grant opportunity. That could be next year, or it could be five years. There’s no clear way of knowing,” Williams said.

Twenty Upward Bound programs in Arkansas enrolled 1,479 students in fiscal 2016 to help students get ready for college, according to the Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs.

“Upward Bound fills in the gaps in a lot of students’ lives,” said Michelle Ciesielski, the nonprofit association’s president. The programs offer tutoring and help cover fees for placement exams, she said.

Nationally, the Council for Opportunity in Education compiled a list of 45 applicants who reported having Upward Bound funding requests rejected from the competitive grant review process.

The list kept by the council includes Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and Philander Smith College in Little Rock.

A spokesman for Philander Smith College did not respond to email and voice messages left Wednesday and Thursday, and the school president’s office referred a call to the spokesman. Based on information from the Council for Opportunity in Education, Philander Smith College’s grant application was rejected from consideration because of a late submission.

Along with those two Arkansas programs, the University of Arkansas, Monticello also had an application rejected, James Brewer, director of media services for the university, said in an email.

Nate Hinkel, a spokesman for the UA System, said the UA-Monticello application was rejected for not being submitted by a deadline and was “more of just a clerical error on their part.” Hinkel said he did not know of any other UA System colleges or universities with rejected applications.

Other schools with Upward Bound programs that responded to the Democrat-Gazette said their grant applications were still under consideration.

The Northwest Arkansas Community College program serves students at seven high schools in four cities: Springdale, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Gentry, Williams said. The college hoped to use grant funds to expand the program to Decatur, a town about 16 miles west of Bentonville, he said.

“It all depends on when they release another grant opportunity. That could be next year, or it could be five years. There’s no clear way of knowing.” — Marcus Williams, NWACC’s director of grants