Enrollment has more than tripled in a new summer tuition grant program designed to keep undergraduates on track to graduate in four years. 

Some 1,142 students took advantage of the University of Iowa’s Summer Hawk Tuition Grant, up from 313 its inaugural year. The program, which covers up to 12 hours of summer tuition, is available to first-time, full-time students from Iowa who have attended the previous fall and spring semesters. The grant, which must be used within the first four years of admission, is also offered to nonresident students for the difference between resident and out-of-state tuition.

"We expected something like this to happen," says Lisa Ingram, the director of the Academic Advising Center and assistant provost for enrollment management at the UI. "Now that two classes are eligible and the word has spread, the program was expected to grow considerably."

Summer Hawk students made up 9.7 percent of the 11,745 students enrolled in summer classes this year, a jump from 2.7 percent last year. This summer, 748 of Summer Hawk participants were from Iowa while 394 were nonresidents. Participation in the program is expected to continue growing, as more incoming students are eligible for the grant.  

First introduced in 2013, the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant was designed to help students graduate in four years but has since been recognized as assisting students in other ways.

"It can also help students who are taking strictly structured majors take the pressure off a difficult semester," says Ingram.

The Summer Hawk program can help free up time for students in science majors who often have little room for error in planning their schedules. Also, freeing up to 12 hours can ease pressure on students who have switched majors or are busy studying for admissions tests, applying for jobs, or doubling majors.   

"We want to make sure students can take all of the classes they need without sacrificing a timely graduation or stretching themselves thin," Ingram says. 

In most cases, the grant may only be applied to one summer. However, students enrolling in the UI's new degree-in-three program will be able to spread the 12 hours over two summers.

Ingram, who has help oversee the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant, is encouraged by the student response to the program.

"The transitional period for the program has been smooth and we're happy with the results," she says.