Commentary: SEED+ bill would benefit Delaware’s students and workforce

SB 12 is an economic-recovery bill that utilizes an existing program to provide Delawareans with access to high-quality, short-term job-training programs that will enable them to obtain a good job in a matter of weeks or months, rather than years.”

In 2005, Delaware became a national leader in providing access to higher education with the enactment of the original Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED) Program, which provides free tuition to any high school graduate in our state with a GPA of 2.5 or above and no criminal record, who is enrolled in an associate degree program at the University of Delaware or Delaware Technical Community College. Business leaders, teachers, policymakers and thousands of Delaware families have rightfully viewed SEED as an unmitigated success, with over 13,000 graduates from Delaware Tech alone getting a debt-free start on their careers. The vast majority of those graduates live, work and contribute to our communities right here in Delaware.

This year, in response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-changing employment demands in our economy, Sen. Nicole Poore, D-New Castle, and 33 of her colleagues in the General Assembly introduced Senate Bill 12, a measure that will not only extend access to an associate degree education to Delawareans unemployed or underemployed but also offer scholarship access to certifications and credentials that connect training program graduates with well-paying jobs in our state’s changing economy. This bill is a logical next step to build on an already successful program.

SB 12 is an economic-recovery bill that utilizes an existing program to provide Delawareans with access to high-quality, short-term job-training programs that will enable them to obtain a good job in a matter of weeks or months, rather than years. Delaware Tech is uniquely positioned to meet this need, since it already administers the SEED scholarship and currently offers a wide variety of job-training programs throughout the state that have been developed in collaboration with Delaware’s business community to meet existing workforce needs. Many of these certifications also seamlessly connect with associate degree programs for the future professional growth of our graduates.

Based on data reported to both the state Office of Management and Budget and the Controller General’s Office each year, we know that SEED scholars take more credits in each semester, graduate more quickly and tend to carry a higher GPA than non-SEED students in the same cohort. The success rate for those students who graduate, transfer to another institution or persist beyond the reporting period is 85%.

And one final note regarding a return on investment for Delaware taxpayers: The SEED scholarship program specifically, and Delaware Tech generally, have proven over the years to be lean, high-quality investments for our citizens. The cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) student at Delaware Tech is lower than any other institution of higher education and the vocational-technical school districts. We would need an entirely separate column to debate and discuss the “return on investment” issue, but the time might be right for that discussion. Delaware’s workforce deserves no less.

We encourage the Delaware House of Representatives to consider SB 12 as quickly as possible and position our state for the post-COVID-19 economy and beyond by enacting this legislation.

Brian Shirey is general counsel for Delaware Technical Community College