Kemp proposes historic $325 million investment in need-based scholarships
Georgia could soon take a big step toward making college tuition more affordable, as Gov. Brian Kemp proposed Thursday that the state invest $325 million in need-based financial aid.
While the state’s HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships have made Georgia a model nationally for merit-based aid, affordability advocates have long argued the Peach State needs to go further. In his final State of the State address, Kemp appeared to agree.
While lauding the state’s merit-based programs, Kemp said he recognized “the advantage that need-based financial assistance can give to those who would not otherwise be able to access higher education.”
“I believe we owe it to every child to ensure they start out on a level playing field no matter their ZIP code,” he said.
His amended budget proposes a $325 million investment in the DREAMS scholarship program. Created last year, DREAMS is described on its website as “the need-based answer to HOPE’s merit-based solution.” It offers awards of up to $3,000 per year for students who demonstrate financial need for their education at a University System of Georgia or Technical College System of Georgia institution.
“This one-time endowment will create opportunities for generational economic advancement for thousands of students,” said Kemp. “And down the road, it will allow them to complete college and begin meaningful careers without the burden of crippling debt.”
Ashley Young, an education expert with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, called it “exciting news.” She said a top priority of college affordability advocates has been to convince Kemp and state leaders of “the urgency of need-based aid.”
Despite the contributions of the HOPE Scholarship and despite the USG keeping tuition relatively low compared to other states, “we are still seeing major gaps in terms of our financial aid for students who have the most unmet financial need,” Young said.
She added that over the last 10 years, the USG has seen a 5% decrease in students eligible for the federal Pell Grant, which helps undergraduate students with financial need to help pay for college. And she noted that Georgia’s average student loan debt per borrower is among the highest in the nation, trailing only Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Last year, the Senate formed a bipartisan study committee to examine how the state could make higher education more affordable. It released its findings in December, concluding that if Georgia did not make changes to its postsecondary education policies, “particularly including the creation of a need-based financial aid program, it is likely that Georgia’s employers will not be able to find the skilled workers they need, which will limit economic growth.”
Nationally, about 74% of state grant aid was need-based in the 2022 academic year. But in Georgia, according to the report, that figure was just 1%.
It notes that need-based aid has sometimes been viewed negatively as a social welfare program. But the reality, according to the report, “is that without a need-based financial aid program, Georgia is leaving potential economic growth on the table and shortchanging its citizens.”
While Thursday’s news is encouraging for Young, she does have concerns about the DREAMS program’s work requirement. And she would like to see DREAMS expanded so that private school students — such as Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities — can also reap the benefits. In its current form, DREAMS can only be awarded to students at public universities.
Whether or not Kemp’s proposal succeeds is up to the state Legislature. But his vision of a “one-time endowment” will likely appeal to at least one Republican; at a media symposium last week, Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, who was part of the affordability committee and supports its recommendation, said he was interested in an endowment model.
Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, who chaired the study committee, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was very pleased by Kemp’s proposal, calling it a bipartisan success story. “It really brings us on board with what 48 states have been doing. So it’s an incredibly important step,” she said.
While the HOPE Scholarship and Pell Grant help students pay for tuition, the endowment would open doors for students who can’t afford the other costs incurred with a college education, such as transportation, housing, food and textbooks, said Orrock. And she likes its odds of passing through both chambers of the Gold Dome.
“When this session is gaveled to a close on April 2,” she said, “I feel very confident that we will have launched this fund and created this opportunity that has heretofore not been there for students with financial burdens.”
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