CLINTON COUNTY, Pa. — Officials of the Commonwealth University and 20 school districts from around central Pennsylvania gathered at the college's Lock Haven campus Tuesday.
The event is big news for local high school students.
"We want to make sure that students in our backyard have the most affordable, high quality, accessible higher education that they can get anywhere without leaving the region," said Dr. Bashar Hanna, Commonwealth University President.
Commonwealth University was formed through the integration of Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, and Mansfield Universities.
Students in any of the partnering school districts will be guaranteed admission to all three campuses.
"If a student has a certain GPA in high school, we will guarantee them admission to the university. Based on that GPA, they will get a merit-based scholarship every year for up to four years," said Hanna.
The Keystone Central and South Williamsport school districts were among those involved in the signing event.
They are excited to offer this to their students.
"It will enable them with some level of security and continue to be able to work on potentially post-secondary education credits throughout their senior year as they look to make this transition to one of the three campuses here at Commonwealth University," said Dr. Eric Briggs, South Williamsport Area School District Superintendent.
"We have already begun to share this information with our school counselors so that the information can get directly to them and be shared with families, said Dr. Jacquelyn Martin, Keystone Central School District Superintendent.
This new deal will provide up to $28,000 of tuition aid per student in participating districts.
"We wanted to make sure our neighboring school districts were our partners in this to provide opportunities for students to earn a college degree and not be strapped that they will have to pay well into their forties," said Hanna.
More school districts will be added to the agreement in the coming weeks.
To find a full list of all 20 school districts currently involved and GPA requirements for students, CLICK HERE.
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