The new HOPE scholarship may increase enrollment at manyTennessee colleges and universities, including The University ofMemphis. But according to some University officials, it may alsoincrease the dropout rate.
"Maintaining a 3.0 GPA is challenging for all students, andanyone coming out of high school is going to have trouble makingthat number," said Jim Redmond, journalism department chair.
The HOPE scholarship, which take effect this fall, requiresrecipients to maintain a 2.75 GPA for the first 24 semester hoursand a 3.0 GPA for the following semesters to continue receiving thescholarship.
The U of M and other public Tennessee institutions are expectinga 9 percent increase in enrollment this fall. However, some U of Madministrators do not expect the increase to be overwhelming.
"We may see a bump in enrollment, but it should be modest, withno huge increases," said Bill Akey, assistant vice provost ofenrollment services. "My hope is that funding from the scholarshipwill enhance retention of our students."
With such high criteria to meet coming out of high school, somesay students will have to be very determined and motivated to workhard to keep their scholarship throughout college.
"Students will need to be very serious about their courseselection to retain these scholarships," said Registrar NoelSchwartz.
"Maintaining the required GPA and successfully completing eachcourse in which the student enrolls will be critical."
Nonetheless, some worry that students who would have taken ayear off before going to college or those who wanted to get workexperience will now feel pressured to continue their education justbecause the funds are available.
"Even though my daughter will probably go on to college aftergraduation, a lot of kids out there just are not ready for collegeand need more time to make their choices, but now this newscholarship will force them to go ahead," said Paula Sterling,parent of a high school student. "There is potential for a highdropout rate if students feel pressured or forced, and don't havethe inner motivation to go anyway."
