Forever Buckeye program works to retain Ohio graduates

Forever Buckeye, a state of Ohio program designed to bring back Ohio high school graduates who have moved elsewhere, is helping students receive lowered tuition by granting them in-state residency without the 12-month waiting period.

The program began Winter Quarter, or spring semester for schools not on a quarter system, and was part of the fiscal year 2012-13 budget for the state.

Kim Norris, deputy chancellor at the Ohio Board of Regents, said economics is a big reason why Ohio wants its students to come back.

"Ohio wants as many degree-holders as possible," Norris said. "To (improve) our Ohio economy we need to attract students of all ages back to Ohio."

She said research has been done on the subject and having more degree-holders in the state produces real benefits.

"For every 1 percent increase in degree-holders in a state, that provides about $2.5 billion for the state," Norris said. "It is critical to Ohio's economic growth."

Norris said in-state tuition is available to all graduates of an Ohio public or private high school, regardless of why a student might have left; though the program is not open to those who earned a GED diploma. The residency applies to undergraduate and graduate programs.

Norris said she hopes students take advantage of the opportunity, and that Ohio wants students to know they are wanted here.

"For students, it's a nice opportunity to significantly reduce enrollment costs; non-state tuition is relatively high here," she said. "(Students are) always welcome in Ohio — you are forever a Buckeye."

Aaron Minnick, assistant director at the Student Service Center, said about 60 Ohio State students have applied for the Forever Buckeye program.

Syane Roy, a graduate student in law, graduated from Troy High School, a smaller school north of Dayton, Ohio. Roy went to New York University for his undergraduate studies. He said he had already considered coming back into Ohio to study at OSU before learning about the Forever Buckeye program, but said it has made a big difference for him financially.

"One of the reasons I chose to go to Ohio State was because of the lower tuition (available through the law program), which I think has made the process a little easier," Roy said. "It was great to have the recognition since I went to high school here. You know, since I am an Ohioan, it was nice to know that the school wanted to encourage people (to come back)."

Brad Myers, university registrar, agreed the program was rooted in helping the state economically but also emphasized that it's a win-win for the state and for students.

"(We) look for ways to help students go to college, graduate, stay in Ohio and help the economy," Myers said. "(We want to) see if we can encourage them to stay after they graduate."

He said there is a broader concern about Ohio not having as many graduates in the state, because it can hurt the economy to have so many graduates leave.

The OSU application for the program asks for personal information, whether the applicant is a U.S. citizen and states what documentation can be used to prove current Ohio residency. Students had until Jan. 31 this quarter to apply.

Carolyn Kaplan, a graduate student in foreign and second language education, said she earned her undergraduate degree in Pennsylvania because it offered her more scholarship money. She said she chose to apply for residency with Forever Buckeye after she was sent information about the program through OSU's residency services because she was already attending for her graduate program.

"It was the convenience of being able to apply for residency," Kaplan said. "I always wanted to come back to Ohio and Forever Buckeye was just kind of acknowledging people who had that interest to come back to Ohio and set up their lives here."

She said it was easy to apply for the program when she did come back to Ohio.

"I just contacted the Akron Board of Education, they sent me my transcripts, I sent a copy of my lease to the Registrar, and within two weeks I received information that my residency status had been changed," Kaplan said. "I wasn't quite sure how to go about re-establishing myself as an Ohio resident with the school, and this just made it really a clean-cut way to do it."