Bright Futures Scholarship Program - Controversy and Reform Proposals

Controversy and Reform Proposals

The Bright Futures Scholarship was first created in 1997, and was meant to emulate neighboring state Georgia's HOPE Scholarship. Originally the Program disbursed just above 42,000 scholarships for about $70 million dollars. Over the last decade the cost for the scholarship has ballooned substantially. The Scholarship currently costs the state's coffers more than $436.1 million, with about 170,000 students receiving benefits. The requirements for attaining the scholarship were meant to increase each year but have not, resulting in the current state of the award.

While many types of controversy have existed over the course of the program's existence, one large critique is that Bright Futures is solely merit-based in its award determination. This allows students whose parents could afford the tuition and fees to receive the funding over needier students. However, there are myriad programs designed to assist the poor and first-generation-in-college student on federal, state, and institutional levels. The cost of college is now largely in living while in school as food, rent, and books cost far more than tuition and mandatory fees. As a result, the scholarship may not be as impactful as it would be in a higher-tuition state. Another aborted attempt to change the program was to award additional funds to certain majors in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. It was abandoned as students across the state vigorously campaigned with social media and physical lobbying to drop the bill.