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Sponsor outlines Hathaway scholarship changes to include certificate programs, proposes post-graduation work requirement
Summary
Representative Harshman presented House Bill 36 to allow certain certificate programs to qualify for Hathaway scholarship eligibility and to add a one-year in-state work or graduate-school requirement; the Department of Education said key academic-progress rules would need clarification.
CHEYENNE — Representative Harshman brought House Bill 36 before the House Education Committee on Jan. 20, 2025, proposing two principal changes to the Hathaway scholarship program: (1) broaden the eligible definition of "certificate" so community-college journeyman and other multi-year certificate programs can qualify when students are not full-time, and (2) add a one-year post-graduation work requirement in Wyoming (or one year to enroll in graduate school) as a condition for certain scholarship elements.
Harshman said the first part was prompted by a constituent whose son entered an electrician program at Central Wyoming College that spans one class per semester over multiple years. The sponsor said the bill would allow rules to be developed so students in those programs could remain eligible for Hathaway support even if not full-time students. The sponsor also described the second provision as a measure to encourage students who receive Hathaway support to remain and work in Wyoming after graduation.
The Department of Education provided technical comments but no formal position. A department representative, Dickey Shane, said Superintendent Megan Degenfelder had no official position but asked the committee to note that existing Hathaway eligibility already accommodates many community-college programs. The department cautioned that the statute—s satisfactory academic progress requirement (definitions for credit hours and GPA) would need a clear mechanism to assess eligibility for nontraditional or part-time certificate programs if the bill expands statutory language.
The sponsor said each section could stand alone if the committee preferred, and that rules would be needed to implement the extension for multi-year certificate programs. Committee discussion did not produce a committee vote on the floor record during the time covered by the transcript; department staff recommended further review of how credit hours and GPA would be applied under the amended definition.
