Ga. Senate bill proposes needs-based HOPE

The Georgia Senate recently overwhelmingly passed a bill aiming to expand the state’s HOPE Scholarship to include a new entirely need-based grant.

Senate Bill 496, which passed the Senate 45-4, targets what it refers to as “the neediest students” and would award smaller funds than the HOPE Scholarship to students attending public postsecondary institutions in Georgia. The bill’s author, Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, estimates the grants will be around $600-$700 per student.

Unlike the HOPE Scholarship, which requires at least a 3.0 grade point average, students would not be required to meet a minimum GPA for eligibility, although recipients would have to maintain satisfactory academic progress at their institution.

“We measure (academic progress) on all financial aid recipients for state and federal,” said GCSU Director of Financial Aid Cathy Crawley. “Students have to be maintaining a certain GPA and have to be showing that they are making progress toward their degree. We measure that students have to be cumulatively passing at least 67 percent of the course work they attempt.”

The GPA needed to maintain satisfactory academic progress is 1.4 for freshmen, 1.6 for sophomores, and 1.8 for juniors and seniors.

“We don’t have a whole lot of students that don’t meet that standard,” Crawley said.

The HOPE College Opportunity Grant has three main components of eligibility. Students must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student. They must meet the Georgia residency requirements. And students must be eligible for a federal Pell Grant which awards funds based on expected family contribution. This semester 1,200 GCSU students received the Pell Grant. That number is up from 900 last year.

The 300 student increase is a substantial change and according to Crawley shows the need for the HOPE College Opportunity Grant.

“I think Georgia has needed a need-based aid program for years. We haven’t had one and a lot of states do. Even if it’s a start I think it’s definitely something that’s needed in Georgia,” Crawley said.

Not all GCSU students viewed the new bill in entirely good favor.

“I like everything with the exception of the Pell Grant,” said Eric Connolly, a junior management major. “The Pell Grant has several stipulations that eliminate the majority of people that are asking for financial aid basis. . (The HOPE College Opportunity Grant) really won’t do anything for me. But if you fall into those circumstances, perfect.”

Other students saw both sides of the proposed new law.

“I think it’s a good and a bad thing,” said Becky Barish, a junior education major. “It’s good because now the HOPE Scholarship is basically for students who don’t need it as much as the lower income students. Students who get better grade-point-averages are typically better off, … it’s bad because if there’s no grade-point requirement, there is no incentive for them to try hard. Knowing we have to keep a 3.0 is our push to keeping good grades.”

If approved by the House, 30 million in state-lottery funds would be available to be set aside for the grant, although the grants would be awarded only when there are sufficient revenues from the lottery to also fund standard HOPE Scholarships.

Posted by Rebecca Burns on Apr 9 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry