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Thousands of students at Ohio’s for-profit career colleges may not be able to afford to start or to continue their education under the new state budget, according to the Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools.
The $50.5 billion, two-year budget eliminates state financial assistance for students at Ohio’s 291 for-profit career colleges.
The Dayton area has more than a dozen such schools.
“The impact on students is that it’s going to cost them anywhere from $2,500 to $4,000 more to attend college,” said R. David Rankin, executive director of Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools.
The state budget cuts the Ohio College Opportunity Grant from $395 million to $171 million. The grant provided needs-based assistance to more than 22,500 career college students statewide.
“There was a budget with very tightly constrained funds and we weren’t able to support financial aid for students attending for-profit institutions,” said Michael Chaney, spokesman for the Ohio Board of Regents.
The restructured grant program will continue to provide aid at reduced levels for students at public institutions such as Wright State University and nonprofit schools such as the University of Dayton.
Career college students tend to be older, nontraditional students who pursue an associate’s degree for a job, according to the association. (Middletown Journal)
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