UTC students' loss of scholarship funds a reason to tighten HOPE rules

If it wasn't already apparent that Tennessee needs to tighten up rules on providing lottery-funded college scholarships, it is now.

As noted by the Times Free Press on Thursday, about half of the freshmen at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lose their HOPE scholarships because they don't keep up their grades. Many then quit.

Shoring up the program's finances and avoiding subsidizing poor academic performance are both good reasons for lawmakers to pass a bill that would reduce the waste of HOPE funds.

At present, high school graduates headed to four-year colleges can get the full $4,000 amount with either a 3.0 grade point average or a 21 on the ACT. The proposed legislation would require students to meet both those criteria to get the full amount. Meeting only one of the criteria means they would get only $2,000.

The legislation's goal isn't to be mean or stingy. Rather, it would encourage students to work harder during high school so they will be better prepared for college. It does students little good to get to college, only to lose their scholarships after their first year because of low grades. It also wastes scarce funds.

There's no reason for that.