Many have inquired about the names of the many UCA students who received discretionary scholarships there in a program controlled by the university president. It has cost $300,000 or so a year. Students need not have demonstrated need or academic excellence to win the money.

I filed an FOI request for those names and got the denial I expected (on the jump).

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I have not yet received a response to my question about how it is that UCA broadly interprets federal law to prohibit disclosure of these scholarship recipients’ names when it and most other Arkansas universities announce any number of scholarship recipients every year — from athletic to honors scholarships. Is it lawbreaking to say who’s a scholarship football player and who’s a walk-on? I don’t think so. What’s the difference here, besides the embarrassment factor for favored insiders? Perhaps Sen. Gilbert Baker would ask a little sunshine from his hometown university to assure us that no politicians enjoyed special favors there on account of their positions. Right, Gil-bo?

UPDATE: More’s cooking on UCA, I believe. Predicted topic: installment payment plans for students. Most campuses offer such plans. It’s in colleges’ financial interest to be sure students meet their commitments to pay under these plans.

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