As the next academic year quickly approaches, a group of Tusculum College students has one less concern thanks to academic achievement.

Seventy-eight percent of the more than 130 Tusculum College students who received financial assistance from the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) Program last year have retained their awards. Only twenty-two percent of the students who received a scholarship from the program will not be eligible for the award next year.

That compares to the estimated 50 percent of all recipients of the lottery scholarships who will not be eligible to keep their awards, according to figures released by the state of Tennessee.

The Tennessee HOPE Scholarship is the primary award provided to students through the state lottery scholarship program. To retain the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship, students must maintain at least at 2.75 cumulative grade point average for the first 24 attempted semester hours and a 3.0 cumulative GPA during the next 48, 72, 96, and 120 attempted semester hours.

Students who are eligible for the HOPE Scholarship are also evaluated for eligibility for the General Assembly Merit Scholarship and the Aspire Award, other scholarships offered through the state program.

The General Assembly Merit Scholarship is based on academic achievement and the Aspire Award is determined by family income.

Students from Tennessee made up 53 percent of the enrollment in Tusculum's traditional academic program for 2004-05, and about a quarter of those students received some type of assistance from the state lottery program in the two years that the program has been in existence.

The program is just one of the many types of financial assistance available to Tusculum students. A majority of Tusculum students receive some type of financial aid, including assistance through federal grant programs, loans, scholarships, and work study opportunities.

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