EMU supports VTAG

This month over 50 EMU undergrads wrote Virginia's Governor Mark Warner expressing support for the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program (VTAG). The program provides financial assistance to roughly 17,500 Virginia students who attend private colleges in the state, regardless of income level or academic performance.

Responding to a request from Shirley Yoder, Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing and EMU's legislative coordinator, the students wrote thanking the governor for increasing the proposed grant size this year. Students were also asked to encourage him to restore it to its historic high of $3,000 per year.

Because of state-wide budget cuts throughout the past few years, the grant amount has been on the decline. In 2001-2002 each student was granted $3,000; last year the award was only $2,210. According to Belle Wheelan, secretary of education, Warner has proposed that the grant be raised to $2,500 for the current academic year. In response to many of the students who emailed, Wheelan also wrote, "We fully expect the program to remain strong well into the future and to continue serving Virginia's citizens."

The grant plays a significant role on the affordability of EMU for many students. "Coming from a low-income family, the VTAG makes my education at EMU possible," said Derek Taylor, a junior. "Without assistance from the VTAG I would be forced to go to a more affordable state school." Derek is just one of roughly 325 EMU undergrads who received the grant last year.

The letter-writing campaign is part of a wider effort coordinated by The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV), which EMU is a part of. Letter-writing campaigns sponsored by CICV in the past have been very successful. "In fact, last year VTAG letters were one of the two top items for which Governor Warner received correspondence, according to sources at CICV," said Shirley Yoder.

In the spring, after Warner has submitted his budget proposal to the General Assembly, Yoder plans to continue supporting efforts to restore VTAG to $3,000 per student. "We hope to take a vanload of Virginia students to the General Assembly to talk with our local legislators, thank them, and show our support," said Yoder. "It is an opportunity for EMU students to join fellow students from other colleges and universities and show strength of support."