UT's First Class Graduating With Hope Scholarship
It's graduation time and the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus is awash with black robes and caps. With finals passed and futures ahead, the air is full of the usual graduation excitement, but something is different about this graduation: This is the first graduating class who were able to receive the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship. The HOPE Scholarship, part of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program, is funded by proceeds generated by the state lottery. Academically qualified students, regardless of family income, are given $4,000 (if enrolled at a four-year college, $2,000 if attending a two-year college) to offset the cost of their tuition. As long as students maintain academic standing, the funding is guaranteed for the first 120 hours of their undergraduate education.
Many students would not be able to attend college without the help of the Hope Scholarship. Although the funds do not cover all college expenses (tuition, room, board, and books is estimated to cost undergraduates over $18,500 per year), it does help. "Since 2003, applications to UT have risen 45 percent. This year, the university got about 14,000 applications for the 4,200 places in the freshmen class for the fall." Students, of course, may attend any state school with their scholarship funds.
While neighboring states have had a lottery for many years, the Tennessee Lottery's first tickets were sold on January 20, 2004. The people of the state had been reluctant to pass the constitutional amendment necessary to offer games of chance, but with the cost of higher education placing an increasing burden on student and their families, the amendment passed and was signed into law in June 2003. The first day of the lottery, $10.8 million in tickets were purchased. Three months later, in April 2004, the first lottery transfer was made to the scholarship fund - $63.7 million! Since then, the lottery has continued to add new games and generate revenue for the students of Tennessee. To date, over $1 billion has been raised for education.
