On May 15, USU announced the Native American Student Scholarship, which will provide full tuition and fees to Native American students at all USU campuses throughout the state.
USU Vice President Robert Wagner said the university is currently implementing a new strategic plan, with one of its goals being to increase access to education. What makes this scholarship unique and so accessible, he said, is USU's presence across the state through its extension program.
“So instead of telling our students you have to come to one specific location to get this benefit, Utah State University is telling students, you can get this benefit at any of our campuses and centers across the state," Wagner said. "If you want to stay in your local community, if you don't want to come to our residential campus, and stay where you're at, there's a good chance that we have a campus or an educational center located close by."
The scholarship is a "last dollar" scholarship, which means that the university is asking students to first apply for financial aid through FAFSA. After the financial aid has been applied, USU will then cover the remaining costs.
“By leveraging other financial aid sources that are out there that might be available to the students, we can take the dollars that we're investing as an institution, and spread that out over a greater population of students to benefit even more. So it's leveraging as much financial aid that the student can qualify for as possible, so that we can help as many students as possible,” Wagner said.
USU will provide full funding for students to obtain their associate degree, bachelor’s degree or technical degree.
