Brigham Young University Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright [pictured at right] outlined a proposal during a November 6 faculty-staff ohana [family] meeting that would revamp and significantly expand the amount of financial aid available to the university’s international students.
Focusing on "the unique things to better service our target areas," President Wheelwright noted BYU-Hawaii plays an increasingly more important role in developing leaders in the Pacific Basin and Far East — "particularly India and China" — in developing the Church; and he pointed out three "foundation elements that will help us be better prepared to do that":
- Attracting greater numbers of better prepared students through distance learning and other programs.
- Instituting a new year-round academic calendar to serve more students
- Offering more international student aid.
President Wheelwright explained that distance-learning classes in basic English and other general educational subjects that BYU-Hawaii is developing will help accomplish the first. "We’ve also gotten approval from Seminary and Institute leaders in Taiwan and Japan to do a pilot to reach out to students two-to-four years before they’re ready to apply so they begin thinking about us, become aware of our standards and what they need to do to qualify," he said.
In reference to the new calendar, the president explained beginning in January 2009 classes will be longer, enabling Winter and Fall semesters to be shorter, plus three terms in between, "with the major emphasis being on the Spring and First Terms." He added that Summer Term will probably be smaller because it is "prime vacation time."
"The newest and the most significant change," however, he continued, would replace the current International Work Experience Scholarship (IWES) program with IWORK — the International Work Opportunity Return-ability and Kuleana (Responsibility) option.
"IWES is designed for 500-600 students a year, which is a little less than half of our international student population who come from the poorest economic circumstances," President Wheelwright said. He added IWES students earn almost half of the approximately $18,000 in annual school expenses when they work 19 hours a week and fulltime during breaks at the Polynesian Cultural Center or on campus. The other half, minus varying support from families, comes as scholarships.
President Wheelwright pointed out that if international students don’t qualify for IWES "either because their country doesn’t qualify, or we’ve already reached our quota, then they’re left on their own. IWORK is really aimed at all international students."
"Every international student with needs could apply for international aid, he continued; but he also stressed that under the proposed IWORK program all of the aid received from the university would come in the form of 50% scholarship, and the remaining 50% as a loan. One-fourth of that loan would be forgiven for each year the participating student returns to his homeland. All IWORK students would be expected to work and contribute to the cost of their education.
"They could still return home without any debt," President Wheelwright said. "However, if they choose to take a job in the U.S. — except for internships and graduate studies, as well as Latter-day Saint missions — then that forgivable loan would be due over an eight-year period, just as a Stafford loan would be due if they were U.S. citizens. The scholarship portion would be equivalent to a Pell Grant for U.S. students."
"One way to think about this is we would be willing to provide funding to any qualified international student with need over and above what they earn from working and support their families can give," he continued. "This would be donor funded, and several donors have already committed their willing support."
President Wheelwright then divided the faculty and staff into small groups and asked these to each spend spend a few minutes addressing one of three challenges:
- Other ways to help identify potential BYU-Hawaii students before they apply at BeSmart.com.
- Additional strategies to facilitate the successful implementation of the year-round calendar.
- Strategies to assist in implementing the IWORK program.
A number of suggestions and follow-up questions arose from the break-out discussions, including:
- Hold a similar ohana meeting with students.
- Asked if only international students who were Church members could participate, President Wheelwright said yes.
- Asked if the Church’s Perpetual Education Fund played any part, the president replied the PEF normally only applies to in-country studies, but preliminary discussions he has held indicated that PEF funds might be used to pay for BYUH distance-learning courses.
- Asked if getting married would change the status of an IWORK student, President Wheelwright said the budget would be adjusted to reflect increases expenses, and there would be no change in the forgivable portion if both husband and wife were program participants and the couple returned to one of their home countries. If an IWORK student married a U.S. citizen and chose to remain in America, however, the loan portion would have to be repaid.
BYUH faculty and staff members discuss the new foundation elements.
—Photos by Mike Foley