Some goals are slow to be realized.  That’s certainly the case with Hiwassee’s quest for an adjustment to the Tennessee Educational Lottery Scholarship program — the Hope Scholarship. The original bill placed Hiwassee College — Tennessee’s only private, residential, church-related two-year college — in the same category as public non-residential community colleges. That meant Hope Scholarship recipients attending Hiwassee received half the amount of the scholarship than if they attended a private four-year college.

The legislation did not consider that Hiwassee’s program and finances are similar to private residential four-year colleges rather than to community colleges. The legislation had a negative impact on Hiwassee. It enticed potential students to attend other institutions because of the difference in the size of the award.

Hiwassee addressed this issue by creating the Lottery Equalization Grant (LEG).  A gift from Dr. Ken Greenwald helped Hiwassee afford students the equivalent of the full scholarship during the first year of the Hope program. In the ensuing years, the college covered the difference through unfunded grants — tuition discounts — to Hope recipients. That meant the college reduced tuition income by approximately $200,000 per year, a significant reduction.  However, it was better than losing students to other institutions.

This year, following four years of work with our legislators, the Hope Scholarship was amended to address the inequity created for Hiwassee.  The new regulations state: the amount of a Tennessee HOPE scholarship awarded to a student attending an eligible two-year postsecondary institution which provides on-campus housing shall be the same as the amount of a Tennessee HOPE scholarship awarded to students attending eligible four-year postsecondary institutions.

We reached our goal! A second change helps Hiwassee’s accrediting work. A revised definition of an eligible college includes “. . . a private four-or two-year  postsecondary institution that is accredited by an accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education, and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation.”  All three of the accrediting groups with whom Hiwassee is working meet this criterion. 

We are grateful to: Sen. Randy McNally and former Rep. Russell Johnson who began the advocacy for Hiwassee four years ago; Rep. Jimmy Matlock, who joined the crusade; Sen. Jamie Whitson, chair of the Senate Education Committee, who guided the committee process; Rep. and  Hiwassee alum Richard Montgomery, member of the House Education Committee; and Claude Pressnell, president of the Tennessee Independent College and University Association, for their constant advocacy.