Running head: HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

How the HOPE Grant and Scholarship Influenced Higher Education in Georgia
Donna Carney
Georgia Southern University
History of American Higher Education
EDLD7432
Dr. Russell O. Mays
July 15, 2011

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

How the HOPE Grant and Scholarship Influenced Higher Education in Georgia
Ever since institutions of higher education were created, we have had some form of
financial aid. Financial aid appeared during the Colonial Era in the form of work-study jobs
(Cohen & Kisker, 2010, p. 51). In the year 1643, the first scholarship was awarded at Harvard
University ("History of Financial Aid," n.d.). The first student loan program was established in
1840 at Harvard University. The GI Bill was enacted in 1944. The GI Bill was passed as
soldiers were returning from World War II. The GI Bill has allowed many service people to
attend college. The Higher Education Act of 1965 authorized most federal student financial aid
programs. The Higher Education Act formed the basis for the next 40 years of financial aid in
the U.S. ("History of Financial Aid," n.d., para. 4). Included in the Higher Education Act of
1965, was the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program which was renamed the Pell grant
in 1973 after U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell. Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid.
Until the late 1980s, only a small fraction of college financial aid was allocated on the
basis of merit, and most of it was related to individual institutions attempts to attract
academically proficient students (Cornwell, Mustard, & Sridhar, 2006, p. 761). In 1991 the
Georgia General Assembly passed an amendment to the state constitution designating lottery
proceeds for educational purposes only, and voters ratified the amendment the following year
(HOPE Scholarship," n.d., para. 2).

In 1992, the State of Georgia created The Georgia Lottery

Corporation. The lottery was created to enhance educational funding. Proceeds from the sale of
lottery tickets in Georgia are funneled back into the educational system as supplemental funds.
The new law created the HOPE Program. The HOPE Program is made up of two parts:
the merit-based HOPE Scholarship and the HOPE Grant (Cornwell et al., 2006, p. 762). The
HOPE scholarship began as a merit-based higher education scholarship (Helping Outstanding

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

Pupils Educationally) funded by revenue from the Georgia Lottery. The HOPE scholarship and
grant covers tuition, fees, and a portion of textbooks expense. The grant and scholarship is to be
used in Georgia colleges and universities. The HOPE scholarships and HOPE grants are
administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). Governor Zell Miller
allocated most of the money generated by the lottery to the HOPE scholarship.
The first HOPE scholarship was awarded in September 1993. Initially the HOPE
scholarship had an income-eligibility cap of $ 66,000 per family. The income cap was increased
to $ 100,000 in 1994 and was completely eliminated in July of 1995. The HOPE grant does not
have income restrictions or merit restrictions (Cornwell et al., 2006, p. 762). Governor Miller
decided students who had lost their HOPE scholarships after their freshman year should have a
second chance to regain the scholarship. The decision was made to allow the student to have the
scholarship back if the students grade point average (GPA) was a B after the sophomore year.
In 1995, President Bill Clinton patterned his program called Americas Hope program after
Georgias HOPE program ("HOPE Scholarship Wikipedia,").
Private colleges and universities were allowed to receive HOPE funds in July 1996
("HOPE Scholarship Wikipedia,"). Due to the inflation of grades at the high school level
Governor Miller found it necessary to institute a required grade point average. In November
1996, changes were enacted in the Georgia HOPE program that required a high school student to
maintain a B average in core curriculum high school classes in order to receive the scholarship
upon graduation ("HOPE Scholarship Georgia Encyclopedia," 2007).
Many people were receiving the HOPE scholarship in the early years of the grant. A
national debate ensued regarding the effectiveness of such programs. Many critics felt HOPE
broadened the gap between high and low income students. Due to the large numbers of students

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

attending school because of HOPE, lower income students were pushed down to lower tier
schools. As the years passed, more changes were made to the HOPE grant. One of the biggest
changes occurred when non-traditional students were allowed to receive the grant.
Five years after the HOPE scholarship was enacted, 319,000 people had received
financial aid from the program. Year after year, the HOPE scholarship celebrated new
milestones. By July 2000, students were able to receive the federal Pell grant and full HOPE
benefits which made college even more affordable. As of June 11, 2011, Georgias HOPE
Program had provided financial aid to 1,660,580 students with awards totaling
$ 6,014,311,400.58 ("Award History," n.d.).
HOPE has been quite successful for Governor Miller. By 2006, statewide SAT scores
improved by forty points since the creation of the HOPE program ("HOPE Scholarship Georgia
Encyclopedia," 2007). Many of the states best students have been able to stay in the state of
Georgia and get their education here due to the HOPE Program ("HOPE Scholarship Georgia
Encyclopedia," 2007). Like all programs, HOPE began to suffer funding issues. Due to
Georgias state budget deficit, the HOPE Program had to be re-evaluated in 2011.
The HOPE Program produced huge benefits to colleges and universities in the state of
Georgia. A decrease of $ 243 million dollars in revenue from the sale of lottery tickets and a
depleted federal stimulus package meant severe changes were needed in the program ("GAs
HOPE Huffington," 2011). If changes were not made to the HOPE program, all reserves would
have been depleted by 2012 (Crisp, 2011). Options entertained were the removal of the
allowance for textbooks and fees. Tuition payments were considered being reduced to 80 or 90
percent of the college tuition cost. It did not matter what choice the legislators made, someone
was going to suffer. A bill was introduced to the state legislature that would dramatically

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

overhaul the cash-depleted HOPE program. The bill began to gain overwhelming support from
the Georgia House of Representatives. Governor Nathan Deal, newly elected governor in 2011,
pledged to save the lottery-funded programs (Turner, 2011).
On March 15, 2011, Governor Deal signed into law the changes to the HOPE Program
("Deal signs law," 2011). The proposed changes reduced the payments for tuition back to ninety
percent and eliminated payments for fees and book allowances (Turner, 2011). Many people are
scrambling trying to figure out how to pay these additional costs that were previously covered by
the HOPE Program. Some students have complained about having to use the book allowance
already in place to supplement for other costs of college attendance. The loss of funds is
expected to hit the technical colleges in Georgia hard. According to Turner (2011), seventy five
percent of technical college students have been relying on HOPE to pay their tuition and fees.
With the passage of the new law, the students will be required to maintain a 3.0 GPA to consider
receiving HOPE (Turner, 2011). Due to the passage of the new law, HOPE grant recipients are
finding themselves having to maintain a 3.0 GPA (Turner, 2011). Turner (2011) stated
thousands of technical college students will now have to come up with $ 300 or more every
semester to pay fees. Governor Deal made the change to HOPE grant in an attempt to save $ 300
million dollars for the lottery-funded program (Turner, 2011).
Enrollment in the technical colleges in Georgia has exceeded expectations in the past
decade (Turner, 2011). Faculty and staff at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College began
preparing early in 2011 by offering extra tutorial assistance to assist students in increasing GPAs
before fall semester (Turner, 2011). Time will tell what happens to Georgias colleges and
universities after fall semester when GPAs are evaluated. Schools may be forced to make
difficult decisions regarding saving money and preserving programs. Georgias public and

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

private universities have benefited from the HOPE program since its inception. The benefit
came in the form of additional students and increased revenue. Now with changes in the HOPE
program, we will have to change gears and evaluate how our institutions thrived before HOPE.

HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

References
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Jossey-Bass.
Cornwell, C., Mustard, D. B., & Sridhar, D. J. (2006). The enrollment effects of merit-based
financial aid: evidence from Georgias HOPE program. Journal of Labor Economics,
24(4), 761-786. Retrieved from http://www.terrry.uga.edu
Crisp, A. (2011). Georgia HOPE programs will see cuts. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jan/29/georgia-hope-programs-will-see-cuts/?local
Georgia Lottery Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2011, from www.galottery.com/aboutus/our-history
Georgia Student Finance Commission. (n.d). http://www.gsfc.org
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HOW THE HOPE GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP INFLUENCED

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Turner, D. (2011). Bill slashing HOPE scholarships speeds through Ga. legislature. Community
College Week, 23(16), 13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Turner, D. (2011. Tech college students face loss of funds as HOPE grants slashed. Community
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