ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
Virginia's private colleges are rallying supporters to try to prevent a chain of for-profit schools from getting into the state's tuition grant program.
National Business College, which operates in Salem, Martinsville and six other locations, is seeking special legislation that would make it the only for-profit school eligible for the program.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, introduced a resolution Tuesday calling for a study of NBC's request.
Currently, only students at nonprofit, private colleges in Virginia are eligible for the $1,500 tuition assistance grants.
The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, which represents 25 nonprofit private schools, says including NBC "could seriously jeopardize the future" of the program by draining away state funding.
The council sent out a mailing to private-school alumni and parents this week claiming that making NBC eligible would open the door to a school that the council says doesn't measure up to the standards set by nonprofit colleges.
Including NBC in the program would cost an estimated $1.3 million a year.
"If the primary concern is assisting students," the council's mailing asks, "why doesn't National Business College operate as a nonprofit or provide more financial aid to its students from its profits?''
But NBC officials say it's a matter of fairness. Their students pay taxes that support the grant program, and they should be able to benefit from it, said Linda Roach, NBC's government affairs director.
Whether the school makes a profit is irrelevant, Roach said. NBC provides a service and couldn't stay in business if it didn't make a profit, she said.
She said it offers a lower-cost alternative - between $4,100 and $5,500 a year in tuition - for students who couldn't afford to go elsewhere. "They're average citizens from hard-working families,'' she said. ``Like most people, they're struggling to pay for their educations."
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB