Shop

The article examined how Georgia's college scholarship program, the largest in the nation, has changed the state's flagship campus in ways that state officials would prefer to ignore. The five-year-old scholarships , which pay tuition for students who earn a minimum of a B average, have served as a model for programs in other states, as well as for President Clinton's new tax credits for higher education. The author documented how the emphasis on the B average at the university has spurred grade inflation and influenced student academic choices. Virtually all freshman receive a HOPE scholarship, so the grade pressure on students and professors is intense. Faced with data showing that HOPE recipients received much better grades than pre-HOPE students (even thought the high school credentials of the HOPE recipients were mixed), some professors admitted to inflating grades and acknowledged that the scholarship has done little to improve student quality.