The city of Louisville is awarding $1 million in college scholarships to help Louisville residents complete their associate’s degrees.
The KentuckianaWorks Scholars program will help 500 people in the 2008-2009 academic year by giving them up to $3,000 for tuition and up to $600 for books and supplies. The scholarship fund is part of Graduate Greater Louisville, a new initiative unveiled in February that is designed to increase the city’s education level.
The most recent update to the KentuckianaWorks Human Capital Scorecard, prepared by Dr. Paul Coomes at the University of Louisville, showed that 2,458 associate’s degrees were awarded in the Louisville area in 2006, ranking the region ninth among 16 peer cities. By adding 500 additional associate’s degrees and continuing at the same growth rate, the metro region would jump to fifth.
“Raising the educational level in Louisville is one of the most important things we can do to shape the future of our region – for both our individual citizens and for economic development,” said Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson.
The $1 million comes from the Workforce Investment Act, the federal government’s principal investment in raising the skills of adult workers. The $1 million will be awarded to students who have a year left to finish their associate’s degrees. Students must complete college by December 2009 and maintain at least a “C” average.
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