Bismarck, North Dakota - News

DETROIT - Baker College of Flint is giving students with good grades a scholarship in the form of free and discounted rent in its dorms, hoping the incentive will boost the Baker system's graduation rate, which is among the lowest in Michigan.

Thought to be the first of its kind, the bonus allows students to stay in the residence halls at the private, four-year school for free if their grade point average is 3.5 or higher.

Those with at least a 3.0 average get half of their residence hall costs paid. Even students with just a 2.7 average qualify for a 25 percent discount on their residence hall costs. The school charges $2,550 a year to live in the dorms.

The goal is to improve retention and graduation rates by giving students very direct and tangible rewards for working harder on their grades.

"We wanted to say to students, 'Look, you do your job and hold yourself accountable, and we're going to reward you for that,'" said Baker College of Flint President Julianne Princinsky. "They can focus all their financial resources on tuition and books."

The private school's tuition is $6,480 for a full course load for the year.

Calvin Sterdivant, a 21-year-old junior from Detroit, was thrilled to learn that his grade-point average will save him half of what he was paying for the residence hall.

"I've been taking out loans of $2,400 per year to stay in the dorms, and this scholarship cuts that loan in half," he said.

Sterdivant, who is studying human services, is one of about 300 students at Baker's Flint campus to live in the school's residence halls, which are about two-thirds full for the upcoming term.

He said he struggles to pay his way through college. Even though he works two jobs, he said he'd have about $20,000 in student loans to repay when he graduates.

Baker students often struggle with loans. The average full-time student loan at Baker was about $3,900 in the 2003-04 school year, the most recent for which information was available. The college, with nine campuses and headquartered in Flint, has a loan default rate of 7.4 percent - double the statewide average.

Linking scholarships to grades isn't a new idea, but linking grades in such a direct way to housing costs is new, said Tony Pals, director of public information for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Washington, D.C.-based umbrella organization for the nation's 1,600 private schools.

"We haven't heard of a program like this," Pals said. "Students and parents will appreciate the simplicity of the program. It's pretty straightforward.

Baker College collectively has 30,000 students, with a combined graduation rate on all of its campuses below 20 percent - second-worst in the state. The Flint campus has 6,065 students and a graduation rate of 13 percent. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 52 percent of students at nonprofit, four-year, private colleges earn a bachelor's degree in four years or less. This is compared with 24 percent of students at nonprofit, four-year, public colleges.

Campus officials point out that Baker enrolls more nontraditional students than other colleges and universities. Many students enroll for job training and not in degree programs. Plus, the average age of a Baker student is 29. The colleges have open enrollment for students with a high school diploma or GED.

Princinsky said her school has focused on using the residence halls to improve student performance for several years.

"We know that when students go away to school, there is a tendency for GPAs to drop and we know that away from their home life, they are away from their support structures," Princinsky said. The Flint campus has added tutoring, student forums, and study and computer rooms in the residence halls.

If the new scholarship program is successful, it could end up changing the culture in Baker's residence halls, Pals said.

"If this ends up working the way I think they want it to work, it looks like it could enliven the residence halls, bringing in a culture where students are engaging one and other academically and fostering an academic community," Pals said.