Georgia House panel advances bill to increase grant access for state college and tech students
More Georgia's college and technical students may soon be eligible for grant money to help them complete their degree after a mathematical oversight made it impossible for many to qualify. A House committee unanimously passed a bill aimed at correcting the oversight Wednesday.
The Georgia College Completion Grant, signed into law in 2022, aims to help students who are close to graduation but are low on money. Students can be eligible for up to $2,500, and the total cost for the state is capped at $10 million, with unused funds rolling over to the next year. In the state's 2024 fiscal year, 10,069 college students received a total $10.9 million through the grants.
To qualify, students must have completed at least 80% of the credit requirements for their course of study, and that's where the math problem comes in, said Georgia Student Finance Commission President Lynne Riley.
The requirement made it impossible for most Technical College System of Georgia students to take advantage of the grants.
'If you think about it, a TCSG program is typically one or two years, and to get to 80% completion of a one-year program, you'd be – if you only have two semesters, you'd be 50% completed halfway through your program, you would never meet that 80% threshold to be able to be an award recipient,' Riley said. 'Similarly, for a two-year program, even after a third semester, you'd still only be 75% of the way on your credential attainment, and so would never be eligible for the program.'
Riley said students seeking four-year degrees at University System of Georgia institutions and private schools also experienced issues.
'USG and private post-secondaries also ran into that same problem that with a typical four-year program for students and the fact that most institutions package their financial aid on an annual basis, so they'd be looking at the possibility of awarding these completion grants at the end of a student's third year, and they typically would only be 75% complete at that point,' she said.
The House Higher Education Committee voted unanimously to expand eligibility to students who had completed 70% of a four-year degree or 45% of a two-year degree, which would encompass more students heading into the last year of their program.
'I stand here before you as embarrassed as anyone to say I don't know why I didn't notice that, but nobody on the House committee nor the Senate committee nor anybody thought about it,' said House Higher Education Committee Chair Chuck Martin, an Alpharetta Republican. 'So the idea of the way these work is before you go into your last year, you've proven, you've put your shoulder to the wheel, you've done well, you're completing, this is a completion grant.'
House Democratic Whip Sam Park, a Lawrenceville Democrat, said he would support expanding eligibility further.
'I think it's continuing to move in the right direction, but ultimately, we're also trying to address the needs-based aid type of issue with this bill, correct? Tell me why we're not looking, why we're so focused more on the back end as opposed to the front end. Is there data, for example, in which that $2,500 could ensure that folks are able to enroll and continue to go to school as opposed to focusing on that 70% threshold for a four-year institution?'
Martin said students in different situations can seek different grants and scholarships, but this program is narrowly tailored to help those who just need a little help to earn their diploma.
'This is not meant to be the ultimate catch-all, end-all for everything, but the best place to deploy the money and to get the most impact,' he said.
Before it can become law, the bill will need to pass both chambers and receive Gov. Brian Kemp's signature. Martin said the Senate and governor's office are comfortable with the bill and he hopes to fast-track it so that schools can plan ahead.
The bill also continues funding the program until 2029. If lawmakers don't approve it, the program is set to expire this year.
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