Let’s not bury the lede: Scholarship Displacement, the practice of schools reducing a student’s financial aid by the amount of the student’s private scholarship, is now banned at Pennsylvania’s public colleges and universities.
Banning this practice helps high achieving students with financial need earn a college degree and graduate without mortgaging their future with soul-crushing student loan debt.
It means that scholarship donors’ intention of helping students achieve their educational goals, by closing the gap between what a student has and what they need, will be carried out effectively and transparently.
And it keeps Pennsylvania’s public colleges and universities price competitive and reduces the number of local high school graduates we “export” to other areas of the country in search of an affordable education.
What you may not know is that the road to eliminating scholarship displacement in Pennsylvania started right here in Adams County. Here’s the story:
Our Community Foundation scholarship donors have a keen interest in helping local students continue their education. When a scholarship we have awarded is displaced by a college, it takes that money away from local students and shuffles it around to other students at the same school. That goes against our donor’s intent . . . and our job is to uphold donor intent and advocate for community philanthropy.
A statewide coalition of scholarship providers, initiated by the Adams County Community Foundation, began discussing the problem of scholarship displacement in 2018. Those who joined us included members of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, The Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation, the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable and Pittsburgh’s Poise Foundation.
Just over a year ago we met with our local state representatives, Dan Moul and Torren Ecker, and shared our experience. They listened—and understood the issue right away. Our representatives were incredible advocates, helping craft and sponsor legislation and educate their peers.
Over the past year, we talked with elected officials, rallied other scholarship providers, and shared the experiences of students affected by the practice to make the issue known and offer a solution.
On July 8, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law HB1642, a sprawling public school system bill which includes a ban on scholarship displacement at public colleges and universities. This makes Pennsylvania the fourth state in the country to eliminate the practice.
This year the Adams County Community Foundation announced $188,000 in new scholarship awards to students in Adams County and South Central PA. Thanks to this newly signed legislation, our scholarships—and those of every other private scholarship provider—will do exactly what the donors intend and what the students need at public colleges and universities across Pennsylvania. And we think that is worth celebrating.
Was your or your child’s financial aid reduced or eliminated at a public college or university in Pennsylvania after receiving a private scholarship? I’d like to know your story. Share it with me at rserpe@adamscountycf.org or call 717-337-0060.
Ralph Serpe is President and CEO of the Adams County Community Foundation. The Community Foundation was created to promote and facilitate charitable giving and to build a permanent civic endowment for Adams County. The Community Foundation provides a home for a variety of charitable funds, some created to support changing needs in Adams County, others established by donors including endowments directed to a specific organization or purpose, scholarship funds, and donor-advised funds, which may make distributions anywhere in Pennsylvania or across the country.
Learn and hear more here:
By the Way… Did You Know… About Scholarship Displacement?
AUG. 04, 2022 DOWNLOAD
State Rep. Torren Ecker (R- Adams, Cumberland) interviews Ralph Serpe, President and CEO of Adams County Community Foundation, about a new law that addresses an issue plaguing students and families – Scholarship Displacement.