It is no secret that the cost of a college education at both public and private universities nationwide has gone up significantly in the last 10 years. At public universities, especially in Oklahoma, much of this increase is due in large part because of decreasing operational support provided by the state. These same trends are true for Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Since 2001, the cost of tuition for a student attending full-time has increased nearly 43%. This increase in costs has placed a significant financial burden on students and parents.

In 2001, the city planners and voters of Alva, Oklahoma began to address this challenge and levied an economic incentive tax of 1%. Half of this tax revenue is dedicated to provide financial assistance to freshman and transfer students who choose to attend college at the Alva campus. This economic incentive tax generates between $250,000 and $300,000 per year for eligible Northwestern students.

This program provided a significant boost to the financial aid support already provided by Northwestern Foundation’s scholarship program. This incentive was designed as a recruiting tool to attract additional students to the Northwestern Alva campus. It also allowed additional funds to be shifted so that more upperclassmen across the University can be helped. Since the implementation of the tax, the University has been steadily growing, a fact reflected by a 5% student increase during the past five years.

Every year, a significant number of students leave after their freshman year of college. They leave for various reasons; however, many students leave because they simply do not have the financial resources to continue. This is true at Northwestern.

After their freshman year the students are no longer eligible to receive funds generated by the tax, meaning that financial aid support for students must be shouldered by the Northwestern Foundation. At this time, there is not an adequate endowment to support scholarships for students beyond their freshman year. The ability of Northwestern to retain students beyond the freshman year is hampered because this need remains unfilled.

Complicating the situation was the economic downturn that began in 2001 with falling interest rates and a bearish stock market. This led to a decrease in earnings for the Northwestern Foundation at a time when enrollment was on the increase and tuition costs were rising. The financial climate exacerbated the already sizable void between the cost of tuition and the financial aid provided by the Northwestern Foundation.

The Millennium Club
The Northwestern Foundation believes that no students should have to leave Northwestern because of a lack of scholarship support. This belief is at the heart of our newest and most ambitious fundraising endeavor – the Millennium Club. The goal of the Millennium Club is to provide funds required to retain students that make a choice to attend any of Northwestern’s campuses.

The objective of the Millennium Club program is to build an additional $25 million in endowed funds for scholarships over the next 10 years. When successful, this endowment will generate an estimated $875,000 annually in additional scholarship support for the students of Northwestern. This will nearly triple the amount the Northwestern Foundation is currently providing in scholarships.

The Millennium Club has three categories of giving - Platinum, Gold and Silver – allowing donors of all capacities the opportunity to invest in the future of Northwestern. The Northwestern Foundation is appreciative of all levels of participation and will recognize each member with a complimentary plaque and coin.

Additionally, individuals will be repeatedly recognized through University and Foundation publications. It will take the commitment of all Foundation donors and Northwestern supporters to make this important program a success. Any person who has a desire to give can participate at some level.