State Secretary of Education and the Arts Kay Goodwin will meet West Virginia Universitys PROMISE Scholars and their parents during a reception from 3-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, in Elizabeth Moore Hall. The reception is part of Fall Family Weekend activities on campus.

WVU President David C. Hardesty and PROMISE Scholars Executive Director Robert Morgenstern will also be on hand to honor the achievements of scholarship recipients.

About 2,500 PROMISE Scholars are enrolled at WVU this fall with more than 1,500 of those as new students. In introducing the program two years ago, Gov. Bob Wise said one of the key stumbling blocks to achieving economic success in West Virginiaboth for individuals and for communitiesis the low rate of college attendance among high school graduates.

Several other states have found that the quickest and most effective way to motivate students to study harder and do better in school is to offer a simple and concrete rewardthe opportunity to attend college,he said.By putting forth a reward for achievement, were saying to students that working hard, playing by the rules and meeting tough expectations will earn them the opportunity to attend college. Thats a lesson that should ring throughout our educational system.

The PROMISE (Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-state Student Excellence) Scholarship is based on a students academic achievement. The program offers thousands of West Virginia high school graduateswith a 3.0 grade point average in the core and overall coursework, as well as a composite ACT score of at least 21, or a combined SAT score of 1000a full-tuition scholarship to a state college or university or an equivalent dollar scholarship to an in-state private college.

Approximately 2,700 WVU students have received the PROMISE award since its inception two years ago with a 74 percent retention rate, according to Morgenstern. The program is funded by revenue from the state video lottery.