Gov. Nathan Deal is developing a needs-based college scholarship that will help poor students afford college.
The program won't benefit current college students, but it will pledge financial support to middle school students so they will be motivated to finish high school and go to college, Erin Hames, Deal's deputy chief of staff for policy, said Tuesday.
Deal will unveil the program and provide more details next month, she said. She briefly mentioned the program during the first meeting of a commission tasked with developing a new funding formula for Georgia's public colleges. That commission is part of a statewide effort to help more Georgians earn a college degree.
The new scholarship will be privately funded, Hames said, adding the state is studying existing programs in Florida and Cartersville schools.
The program will target low-income students, with a preference for those who would be the first in their family to attend college, she said. Students will be required to maintain high grades and sign contracts promising to stay out of trouble. Students will be paired with mentors who will help them prepare for and apply to college, she said.
Georgia has provided HOPE, a merit-based scholarship, since 1993. More than 256,000 students went to college through the lottery-funded program last year.
Students, college leaders and others have long said Georgia should create a needs-based scholarship. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute think tank released a report earlier this month arguing the case by noting many students are being priced out of college because tuition and fees have increased by an average annual rate of 12.6 percent since 2000.
Hames said Deal looked into the new scholarship after students shared their worries about rising college costs.
College students held multiple protests earlier this year as Deal and lawmakers revamped HOPE. They reduced the scholarship's payouts to keep the cash-strapped program from running out of money.
As part of the HOPE changes, the state provided $20 million for the Student Access Loan Program. The loans, which carry a 1 percent interest rate, were designed to fill financial holes for college students who exhausted all other financial aid options.
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