Committee hears overview of Wyoming Works and Wyoming’s Tomorrow scholarship programs
August 30, 2024 | Education, Joint & Standing, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming
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Legislative staff and the Wyoming Community College Commission briefed the committee on two state post‑secondary workforce programs: Wyoming Works and the Wyoming’s Tomorrow scholarship.
Ashley Phillips of the Legislative Service Office summarized statutory differences: Wyoming Works funds are limited to programs approved by the Wyoming Community College Commission and include programmatic grants for colleges (with a 2:1 non‑state match requirement on some grants). The Wyoming Works student award was described in the packet as tied to Hathaway/Honor scholarship levels; staff reported a per‑student calculation that yields a statewide baseline figure used in the modeling.
By contrast, Wyoming’s Tomorrow is an endowment‑funded scholarship that can fund a broader set of programs, both credit and noncredit; preference is given to critical‑needs programs, but the statute allows broader eligibility. The Wyoming’s Tomorrow scholarship account was described as funded to a $50 million minimum by the recent Legislature; tuition awards from that program are limited by the endowment’s available expenditure account and by statutory priorities. The “Kickstart” scholarship (a separate, budget‑appropriated program enacted for the current biennium) provides temporary, additional scholarship funding for eligible students this biennium; the commission said it will transition to the regular Wyoming’s Tomorrow awards in the 2025–26 academic year when endowment distributions are available.
Commission staff said initial deployment of Kickstart has served roughly 450 individual students to date and that early demand has met or exceeded estimates in particular for University of Wyoming applicants. Commission staff described the mechanics for awarding when dollars are limited (a set of statutory priorities, with already‑awarded students and critical‑needs programs among the priorities) and said no triage of priorities had been necessary so far.
Why it matters: The programs target adult learners and workforce training; differences in statutory rules, funding sources and award caps mean lawmakers and colleges must coordinate which students and programs are eligible for each aid stream. Committee members asked how the programs will interact and whether the temporary Kickstart awards will overlap with Wyoming’s Tomorrow once endowment distributions begin.
Ashley Phillips of the Legislative Service Office summarized statutory differences: Wyoming Works funds are limited to programs approved by the Wyoming Community College Commission and include programmatic grants for colleges (with a 2:1 non‑state match requirement on some grants). The Wyoming Works student award was described in the packet as tied to Hathaway/Honor scholarship levels; staff reported a per‑student calculation that yields a statewide baseline figure used in the modeling.
By contrast, Wyoming’s Tomorrow is an endowment‑funded scholarship that can fund a broader set of programs, both credit and noncredit; preference is given to critical‑needs programs, but the statute allows broader eligibility. The Wyoming’s Tomorrow scholarship account was described as funded to a $50 million minimum by the recent Legislature; tuition awards from that program are limited by the endowment’s available expenditure account and by statutory priorities. The “Kickstart” scholarship (a separate, budget‑appropriated program enacted for the current biennium) provides temporary, additional scholarship funding for eligible students this biennium; the commission said it will transition to the regular Wyoming’s Tomorrow awards in the 2025–26 academic year when endowment distributions are available.
Commission staff said initial deployment of Kickstart has served roughly 450 individual students to date and that early demand has met or exceeded estimates in particular for University of Wyoming applicants. Commission staff described the mechanics for awarding when dollars are limited (a set of statutory priorities, with already‑awarded students and critical‑needs programs among the priorities) and said no triage of priorities had been necessary so far.
Why it matters: The programs target adult learners and workforce training; differences in statutory rules, funding sources and award caps mean lawmakers and colleges must coordinate which students and programs are eligible for each aid stream. Committee members asked how the programs will interact and whether the temporary Kickstart awards will overlap with Wyoming’s Tomorrow once endowment distributions begin.
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