RBCA said:
One of the scholarship programs I manage does not currently accept applications from vocational technical or trade students. I have the opportunity to change their minds. What do you think I should tell them?
I guess that depends somewhat on the mission of the scholarship and how awarding of it is determined.
My wife and I both generally came from a privileged time and place, where going to a university to get a bachelor's degree was more of an expectation than an accomplishment. Most did not need financial aid to graduate without crushing debt. The scholarships people got were often little more than bonuses for their privilege that padded their or their parents pocket, had a minor impact on their entirely manageable debt load, or perhaps offered some ability to attend a more ‘prestigious’ (expensive) university than they otherwise would have. Don't get me wrong, getting scholarships still took hard work on their part, and were appreciated. But I'd argue that the actual ROI of those scholarships was pretty terrible, as it had little meaningful impact on the outcome.
Now that’s not to discount in any way scholarships for all those with the work ethic, capability, and desire to succeed at a 4-year university, but need scholarships to otherwise reasonably make it a reality. For scholarship programs that are ok stopping here, despite being more difficult to differentiate than pure academics, there is no shortage of such deserving people. Depending on the size of the scholarship vs the cost of tuition, the ROI still might not be all that great either though, as it isn't necessarily enough to have a dramatic overall impact on the affordability and resulting debt load taken on.
My wife has also long worked at a technical college. For much of that she was as an academic advisor for people on a variety of government assistance programs, who were trying to change the direction of their lives despite the strong headwinds they were facing. I’m not just talking about those who aren’t suited to the university education model or who genuinely would rather just work in a trade. People she helped included (but weren't limited to) HS dropouts getting a second start on life, single mothers escaping poverty (and sometimes abuse), 1st generation immigrant families with one or both parents needing to learn English before even starting on their certificates, and workers laid off from industries in decline retraining for industries in demand so their families wouldn't fall into poverty. The lower relative cost for the amount of earning potential increase means that each dollar spent here has a greater impact on the long term success of each individual... And which carries on, breaking the bad cycle and starting a good one, with their children. Many graduates were able to get on their first job track with a living wage and growth potential, while others were able to move to a better one. Some were even coming out making more than her, despite her master's degree and years of experience. The focus on these programs is more on providing the supply to fill industry demands, than selling diplomas regardless of what the post-graduation prospects may be. Her experience has shown that there is no area of post-secondary education with a greater funding and scholarship ROI than tech/trade schools.
One of the obstacles I see in trying to cover both university and tech/trade within a single 'scholarship' is determining how to both identify and judge the merit basis and awarding between them. Conventional measures of academic success tend to bias the selection toward the university side and those who benefit the least from it. And the more it would benefit people on the tech/trade side, the less directly prior academic success (or lack there of) may demonstrate their merits.
Viewing education as part of our societal house: University scholarships without need are trying to raise the roof. University scholarships with need are trying to repair the roof. Tech/trade scholarships are trying to repair the foundation. A strong foundation benefits the whole house.
