Open up HOPE scholarships

There?s good news and bad news on the HOPE lottery scholarship front.

First, the good news. We now have a $300 million lottery fund surplus. Now, the bad news. Only about 1-in-4 lottery recipients manage to keep their scholarships.?Why? In my view, the two main causes of this problem are: lack of student preparation for college, and lack of student motivation to excel in college.

We can blame parents and teachers for this, ad infinitum, but getting a HOPE Scholarship is hard and keeping one is even harder.? Prepared, motivated students commit themselves to the hard work necessary to get and keep their scholarships.

Parent and teacher inspiration and encouragement are necessary, but not sufficient conditions for preparing our high school students to excel in college.?We should challenge our students to love learning and view it not as a requirement met on a test but as a lifelong experience that will improve their quality of life.

Ultimately, though, it is up to the students to rise to the challenge. ?

Sadly, many of our recent high school graduates come to college woefully unprepared for the culture shock of personal responsibility and accountability for their own success or failure. Ironically, this includes many HOPE scholars.

The bright shining exceptions to poor preparation for college are our ?non-traditional students? ? men and women who?ve been out of high school for some time, attending the ?school of hard knocks,? which can be acutely instructive.

Non-traditional students bring to the classroom their real world knowledge and experience.?More than that, they bring a positive, inquisitive attitude toward learning and its intrinsic benefits for what the Greeks called the ?good life.?

They also bring something else so important for college and life success: The Work Ethic. They attend class regularly, study hard, listen attentively, take notes carefully, and participate fully in their own learning.?In many cases, their presence and credibility help motivate traditional students to match their example.

Incredibly, these highly motivated, high performing students are not eligible for entry-level HOPE Scholarships, due to restrictive entry requirements.?They richly deserve to be included in the pool of eligible candidates for HOPE scholarships.

Still, non-traditional students remain locked out of the competition, even after Gov. Bredesen?s State of the State message.?His educational proposals offer millions of dollars to traditional students, even C-level students, but not a penny, specifically, to non-traditional students. This is a slap in the face to all those non-traditional students who continue their pursuit of academic excellence, often at great financial sacrifice, for themselves and their families.

We can help right this wrong by insisting that our legislators explicitly include non-traditional students in the competition for HOPE scholarships. If this means drafting new legislation and changing a few college rules, so be it.?The governor?s oversight can be their opportunity to recognize and reward deserving non-traditional students.

If you agree with me, please let your legislators know now. Call toll-free 1-800-449-8366, then extension 16694 for Sen. Jerry Cooper; 11963 for Rep. Charles Curtiss; and 44536 for Rep. Judd Matheny. ?

Thomas B. Vaughn is an instructor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ?Viewpoints,? which airs on WCPI 91.3 FM.