PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Its launch was delayed by the pandemic, but Community College of Philadelphia is now offering free tuition through its new city-funded Octavius Catto Scholarship.
The Catto Scholarship covers the tuition for qualified students to attend Community College of Philadelphia after other federal and state grants are applied. The city is funding the program with $5 million this year and $47 million over five years.
Dr. April Voltz, who oversees the scholarship at CCP, expects up to 4,500 students to benefit over the next five years. "We do expect to work with about 500 students this first semester. And we expect that it will increase over the years of the grant," Voltz said.
College president Guy Generals told reporters that each year 3,000 students drop out of CCP, because after paying tuition they can't afford books or to pay for transportation or child care. He said the Catto Scholarship solves that with up to $1,000 a semester for food and books. "It's not just about getting them into the door but helping them to be successful," Generals said.
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The mayor's top education aide, Otis Hackney, said that he's living proof that last-dollar scholarships are effective. "I was a CCP student and here I sit before you now as Chief Education Officer," Hackney said. "So programs like this and opportunities like this work."
Because of the financial impact of the pandemic, the start of the scholarship was delayed from the fall to the spring semester which begins in January.