CONWAY -- Hendrix College announced Monday that it will ensure that Arkansas high school seniors will get 100 percent of their financial need covered to attend the private college next fall in a move aimed at attracting students from all income levels.
The plan will offer a wide variety of financial help -- including grants, scholarships and loans -- and is aimed more at helping diversify student enrollment than increasing enrollment, Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui said.
The Hendrix Arkansas Advantage is for Arkansas high school seniors who have a 3.6 or higher grade-point average and who have an ACT score of at least 27 or a SAT score of at least 1200, excluding writing, the college said in a news release.
The maximum ACT score is 36. Hendrix will use an SAT formula in which a score of 1600 was considered perfect, Tsutsui said.
"The program will meet students' demonstrated financial need through all forms of financial assistance, including merit scholarships, need-based grants, federal and state grants, federal student loans and student employment," the release said.
"We know that cost is a critical issue for students choosing a college, and many students and families assume that a private college is prohibitively expensive," Tsutsui, who joined the college in June, said in the release. "But when you consider the financial aid we offer and our four-year graduation rate, Hendrix is a very good investment for Arkansas students and families."
The plan will address the total cost of attending college, including books, fees and room and board, Tsutsui said.
Hendrix enrolls 1,350 students. Of those, 317 are new freshmen, Tsutsui said.
The school has a four-year graduation rate of 63 percent.
A recent report found that just 19 percent of full-time students receive a bachelor's degree in four years at most public universities, according to The New York Times. Complete College America, a nonprofit group based in Indianapolis, released the report, according to a Times article earlier this month.
Tsutsui said Hendrix hopes to return to its original mission of helping a broader range of students.
"Hendrix's heritage is taking the talented kids across Arkansas no matter what their background is ... and giving them that top-notch education," he said.
"We still want to serve those bright young kids from Arkansas for whom these past few years at least an education at a college like Hendrix has seemed out of reach financially," he added.
Tsutsui said the college's enrollment has fluctuated recently. "We're happy right around 1,400 or so," which would be "up a little bit from where we are."
But he stressed, "This is not bottom line about numbers. This is about the spirit of the institution. More and more colleges are going to be thinking about this because otherwise we stand the risk of being thought of as country clubs" where costs are "priced out of the range of even middle-class kids."
Rex Nelson, president of Arkansas' Independent Colleges and Universities and the parent of a Hendrix senior, called the plan "an excellent move by the school and an excellent opportunity for Arkansas students."
"Anything the institutions themselves can do to make it easier for Arkansas students to attend these schools is just a wonderful thing, not only for the school but for the state" and the students, Nelson said.
If students attend college in Arkansas, they are more likely to spend their careers here, and as a result help increase the number of college graduates living in the state, Nelson said.
Tsutsui said he could not project how many freshmen would qualify for the program this fall but said, "It's going to be dozens of students."
"I have my fingers crossed that this will allow us to do a good thing and also does not hurt us financially," he said.
State Desk on 12/09/2014