No. 3, Jan. 26, 2004

Overview of a Key Issue

The HOPE Scholarship Program

The General Assembly is expected to devote a fair amount of time during the current legislative session to debating the best way to ensure the future of Georgia's HOPE Scholarship program.

The nationally recognized, merit-based scholarship program, administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) is funded through the state lottery. The cost of providing HOPE to eligible college students is a function of the number of eligible students and the lottery proceeds. The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) informed legislators last year that the cost of the HOPE program soon will outpace lottery revenues.

To address this critical issue, the state legislature created the Improvement of the HOPE Scholarship Joint Study Commission, a 20-member body co-chaired by Sen. Bill Hamrick and Rep. Louise McBee (who also chair their respective Higher Education Committees in the General Assembly).

After several months of research and debate, the commission in November 2003 released a report proposing dramatic changes in order to preserve the health of the HOPE Scholarship program. State officials estimate the recommendations in the report could save nearly $1 billion over the next five years and keep the program financially viable for the next decade.

The recommendations, which were presented to the Senate and House Higher Education Committees during a joint meeting held on Jan. 15, are as follows:

Budgetary Recommendations

1. Eliminate payment for books, effective academic year 2004 - 2005 (FY 2005).
    
2. Eliminate payment for fees, effective academic year 2004 - 2005 (FY 2005).
    
3. Cap the number of eligibility hours for the HOPE Grant (for students attending public technical colleges) at 95 quarter hours (63 semester hours), effective academic year 2004 - 2005 (FY 2005), and cap participation across both the HOPE grant and scholarship programs at the current scholarship limit of 127 semester hours.
    
4. Restrict eligibility for the HOPE Grant program to those students who do not possess a bachelor's degree effective academic year 2004 - 2005 (FY 2005).
    
5. Implement a standard 3.0 grade point average (GPA) requirement for the HOPE Scholarship, effective academic year 2007 - 2008 (FY 2008).

Policy Recommendations

6. Preserve the merit- based focus of the HOPE Scholarship Program.
    
7. Endorse the recommendation of the GSFC regarding the development of a uniform residency requirement for all students receiving support from HOPE.
    
8. Ensure compliance with the 3.0 requirement.
    
9. Improve data collection and management.
    
10. Determine the appropriate means of legislative oversight and coordination.
     
11. Create a commission to study the pre- kindergarten program.
     
12. Implement a uniform grading system for public K- 12 education in Georgia.
     
13. Discontinue funding for future capital outlay projects.

Contingency Options

(additional academic eligibility requirements and other options for HOPE outside of the recommendations)

To Further Reduce Eligibility:

• Increase the required GPA above the 3.0
   
• Add an End-of-Course Test requirement
   
• Add an SAT requirement

To Reduce Award Generosity:

• Implement a variable flat grant not to exceed expenses

Gov. Sonny Perdue has applauded the work of the commission and spoken in favor of linking performance on the SAT to HOPE eligibility. Watch for updates in future issues of Legislative Update.

Commission Members

Senate:
Sen. Bill Hamrick, co-chair
Sen. Jack Hill
Sen. Brian Kemp
Sen. Tommie Williams

House:
Rep. Louise McBee, co-chair
Rep. Gerald Greene
Rep. Bob Holmes
Rep. Ann Purcell

Governor's appointments:
Dr. Stuart Gulley, president, LaGrange College
Dr. Mike Vollmer, president, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Chase Daughtrey, student, private college
Kristin Kole, student, private college
Bruce Bellamy, parent, public college
Pamela Woodcock, parent, private college

Agency heads designated by the legislation creating the commission:
Dr. Kenneth Breedon, commissioner, Department of Technical & Adult Education
Dr. Henry Hector, president, Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges
Dr. Thomas C. Meredith, chancellor, University System of Georgia
Marsha Moore, director, Office of School Readiness
Shelley Nickel, executive director, Georgia Student Finance Commission
Cathy Walls, interim president, Georgia Lottery Commission

* The University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, with assistance from legislative staff support services, staffed the study. Additional staff support was provided by Dr. Cathie Mayes Hudson and Rob Watts at the Board of Regents, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Department of Technical & Adult Education, the state's independent colleges, and the Office of Planning and Budget.

Next Up:

Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith will appear before the House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ann Purcell, to discuss the FY 2004 Amended Budget at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in Room 416 of the Capitol.