The new version of the Ohio House’s two-year state operating budget passed last Wednesday, April 9 with a 60-39 vote and includes new requirements for private colleges like Otterbein that want to continue participating in the Governor's Merit Scholarship program.
As written in the current proposal, private colleges must automatically accept the top 10% of all high school graduates and comply with parts of Senate Bill 1, which includes a new higher education ban on diversity and inclusion efforts, in order to continue participating in the Governor's Merit Scholarship program.
The Governor’s Merit Scholarship gives the top 5% of graduating high school students in Ohio $5,000 per year to attend an Ohio college — public or private. The scholarship was enacted in the budget two years ago, and about 20% of students who received this scholarship attend private schools.
These proposed changes have sparked concern and confusion among the campus community, some of whom fear the impact on future admissions and campus culture.
Alyssa Myers, a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major, described the proposed changes as frustrating and unexpected because the new higher education changes were only affecting public universities and community colleges.
"It's kind of annoying, because we had all of those Otterbein University Student Government (OUSG) meetings about the SB1 bill, and they created procedures to protect all students. They would always say that it wouldn’t affect us, but now it could," said Myers.
Student leaders are also voicing concerns about how the proposed changes could impact access and fairness in college admissions. Nolan James, a sophomore finance major and member of OUSG, emphasized how the shift could disadvantage both students and smaller institutions.
“From what I just read, this can be a negative for most small private schools. They do not have the proper amount of spacing to accept all those applicants. Also, if they are forced to accept the top 10%, then this counts out high school graduates who worked hard to build up their resumes (with extracurriculars, jobs, volunteer work, etc.) as a way to beef themselves up if their grades are not the best. On top of all this, small schools not being allowed to give out this scholarship makes it harder for them to get students to commit to their school. All this will do is push the students further toward public schools," said James.
President John Comerford weighed in on the proposal, emphasizing the value private institutions provide and expressing concern over increased state control.
“We are advocating strongly that independent colleges and universities should remain free from unnecessary interference from the state government. Places like Otterbein do an amazing job educating current and future Ohioans, for just a fraction of what it costs the state to educate students at public universities. To threaten our students’ access to state financial aid is not just bad for them, their families, and Otterbein – it is bad for the State of Ohio.”
Frank Dobson, Otterbein’s chief diversity officer, explained in a previous conversation that Otterbein’s approach differs from traditional DEI models by focusing on building authentic communities and embracing cultural differences. In light of the proposed budget changes and potential restrictions on diversity efforts, Dobson expressed concern over the broader impact.
“My initial reaction was one of surprise. Clearly, this could be detrimental to small private institutions such as Otterbein. The Governor's Merit Scholarship initiative helps so many worthy students at Otterbein and other institutions," said Dobson.
The proposal isn’t final yet. It still needs to go through the Ohio Senate, and Governor DeWine has until June 30 to sign it.
If the new requirements stay, private colleges would have to make tough decisions: comply with new state rules, which some schools say conflict with their values or missions, or give up access to thousands of potential scholarship students.
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