Changes were made to the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program (TELS) by the state legislature in the summer of 2005.  These changes were effective beginning with the Fall 2005 semester.

The following information is based on the official Policies and Procedures issued by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC).  Please note that the policy is subject to change without notice.

A Summary of the Changes:

• Need-Based Supplemental Award will be called Aspire Supplement.
• Increase in scholarship amounts.
  • Hope Scholarship: $3300 per year
  • Hope with Merit Scholarship: $4300 per year
  • Hope with Aspire Supplement: $4800 per year
  • Hope Access Grant: $2400 per year
• Certain non-traditional students will have an opportunity to qualify for TELS.
• Students will be allowed to return from out-of-state institutions and receive TELS.
• Students will be allowed to “sit out” for 16 months after graduation or GED test date.
• Students will be able to retake one class and have the grade replaced.
• Students will be able to regain TELS by earning 3.0 GPA at the next bracket (for example, after 48 attempted hours).
• FAFSA deadlines have been established for each semester.  Students who do not have a  FAFSA processed by the deadline will retain eligibility for TELS for future semesters, but will not be able to receive the award for the current term.

Scholarship Amounts

Beginning with the Fall 2005 semester, full-time scholarships will be for the following amounts:

*In addition to Hope Scholarship amount

Students enrolled in less than 12 hours as of the census date for each semester will be eligible to receive a prorated award according to the number of hours enrolled.  Half-time awards (for 6 to 8 credit hours) will be equal to 50% of the full-time amount and three-quarter-time awards (for 9 to 11 credit hours) will be equal to 75% of the full-time amount.

If a student is eligible for both a Merit Scholarship and an Aspire Supplement, the student will receive the higher Aspire amount.  The student will retain eligibility for the Merit Scholarship and may receive it if ineligible for the Aspire Supplement in a subsequent semester.

Non-Traditional Students

A non-traditional student may qualify for a Hope Scholarship by meeting eligibility criteria and academic requirements.  The student must meet the following criteria:

• First-time freshman (with no prior college credit) for Fall 2005 or subsequent semester.
• At least 25 years old on September 1 of initial academic year of enrollment.
• Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $36,000 or less on the FAFSA.
• 2.75 TELS GPA after 24 TELS attempted hours.
• Meet eligibility requirements in regard to citizenship, residency, and enrollment status (all TELS requirements except those pertaining to ACT and high school GPA standards).
• Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year.  The FAFSA must be processed every year by September 1.

A student who meets the above criteria may qualify for a Hope Scholarship of $3300 per year.  According to TSAC’s TELS policy, a non-traditional student is not eligible to receive a Merit Scholarship, Aspire Supplement, or Access Grant.

Example 1: A student turned 26 on July 15, 2005, and has not been enrolled in any college courses since high school graduation.  The student attempts 12 credit hours in the fall and 15 credit hours in the spring, and has 27 attempted hours with a 2.98 GPA after the spring semester.  The student has an AGI of $27,966 on the 2006-2007 FAFSA and meets residency and other TELS requirements.  The student will be eligible to receive a TELS award of $3300 beginning with the Fall 2006 semester.

Example 2: A student with the same GPA and attempted hours as above has an AGI of $34,032 on the 2005-2006 FAFSA and appears to be eligible at the end of the spring semester.  However, the student’s 2006-2007 FAFSA lists an AGI of $37,090.  The student will not be eligible for the 2006-2007 award year.  If the student meets all continuing eligibility criteria, the student may regain the scholarship in the 2007-2008 award year if the AGI is below $36,000 on the 2007-2008 FAFSA.

Transfer Students from Out-of-State Institutions

A Tennessee student who was otherwise eligible for a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship but transfers from an out-of-state institution to an eligible Tennessee institution may be eligible to receive a TELS award.  The student must meet the following criteria:

2003 Graduates

• Must have enrolled in an eligible out-of-state institution (regionally accredited, as defined by TSAC) during the 2003-2004 academic year.
• Cannot have been enrolled in a Tennessee institution prior to enrollment in an out-of-state institution.
• Must meet all initial eligibility criteria as currently stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must meet first-year eligibility criteria for 2003 graduates, as originally stated in TSAC’s TELS policy:
  • Must have earned at least 24 credit hours with a 2.75 TELS GPA by the end of the Summer 2004 term.
• Must meet all continuing eligibility criteria:
  • Must have been enrolled at least half-time every fall and spring semester
  • Must have maintained enrollment status for every semester. (For example, a student who enrolled in full-time hours must have finished the semester with at least 12 credit hours.)
  • Must have met TELS GPA requirements of at least a 2.75 cumulative TELS GPA after 24 TELS attempted hours, and 3.0 GPA after 48, 72, and 96 TELS attempted hours.
  • Must meet all other continuing eligibility criteria as stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year.  The FAFSA must be processed every year by September 1.

Graduates On or After December 1, 2003

• Must have enrolled in an eligible out-of-state institution (regionally accredited, as defined by TSAC) no later than 16 months after high school graduation.
• Cannot have been enrolled in a Tennessee institution prior to enrollment in an out-of-state institution.
• Must meet all initial eligibility criteria as currently stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must meet all continuing eligibility criteria:
  • Must have been enrolled at least half-time every fall and spring semester
  • Must have maintained enrollment status for every semester. (For example, a student who enrolled in full-time hours must have finished the semester with at least 12 credit hours.)
  • Must have met TELS GPA requirements of at least a 2.75 cumulative TELS GPA after 24 TELS attempted hours, and 3.0 GPA after 48, 72, and 96 TELS attempted hours.
  • Must meet all other continuing eligibility criteria as stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year.  The FAFSA must be processed every year by September 1.

Example 1:

A student graduated from high school in May 2004 and enrolled at Western Kentucky University for the Fall 2004 semester.  After taking 15 hours each semester, the student has a 3.12 GPA.  He transfers to MTSU in the Fall 2005 semester and is eligible for a TELS award.  His attempted hours and GPA from WKU will count in all TELS calculations, even though he did not receive a TELS award while at WKU.

Example 2:

The student above dropped 6 hours in the Spring 2005 semester, with 15 attempted hours but only 9 earned.  The student will not be eligible for TELS, regardless of GPA, because he changed his enrollment status for the semester.  However, the student may appeal to regain eligibility if he dropped courses due to extenuating circumstances.

Example 3:

A student graduated from high school in May 2004 and enrolled at MTSU for the Fall 2004 semester.  She transferred to the University of Alabama in the spring of 2005 but came back to MTSU for the Fall 2005 semester.  By enrolling at an eligible Tennessee institution and subsequently transferring out of state, the student forfeited eligibility for TELS. She will not be eligible for a TELS award.

Delay of Enrollment

A student who was otherwise eligible for a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship on the date of high school graduation but did not enroll in a higher education institution immediately after high school graduation may be eligible to receive a TELS award.  The student must meet the following criteria:

• Must have graduated from high school on or after December 1, 2003.
• Must enroll in an eligible institution no later than 16 months after high school graduation, home school completion, or GED test date.
• Must meet all initial eligibility criteria as currently stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year.  The FAFSA must be processed every year by September 1.

Example 1:

A student graduated from high school on May 21, 2004.  His 16-month period expires on September 21, 2005.  He must be enrolled by September 21 and will therefore be required to enroll no later than the Fall 2005 semester, beginning in August.

Example 2:

A student completed her GED on December 15, 2004.  Her 16-month period expires on April 15, 2006.  She must be enrolled by April 15 and will therefore be required to enroll no later than the Spring 2006 semester, beginning in January.

“Repeat” Provision

TSAC’s TELS policy states that grades for all courses taken after high school graduation will be included in the TELS GPA, including courses later retaken for a higher grade.  However, each student will be allowed to repeat a single class and request that the earlier grade be excluded from the TELS GPA.  (Please Note: A student may repeat multiple classes according to institutional policy, but only one grade may be excluded for TELS purposes.)  When the student reaches the next bracket (at 48, 72, or 96 TELS attempted hours), the excluded grade will not be considered in determining whether the student meets the GPA requirement.

A student must submit a Repeat Option Form to request that a repeated grade be excluded.  The student must additionally consult with an advisor in the Academic Support Center regarding the use of the Repeat Option.  The student may be required to submit a Regain Option Form also to regain eligibility for a TELS award.

“Regain” Provision

A student who was initially eligible for a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship but who lost eligibility due to failure to meet GPA requirements may be able to regain TELS eligibility.  The student must meet the following criteria:

• Must have lost eligibility due to failure to meet GPA requirements.
• Must meet requirement of at least a 3.0 TELS GPA after 48, 72, or 96 TELS attempted hours.
• Must meet all other continuing eligibility criteria for every semester, including semesters for which the student did not receive a TELS award:
  • Must have been enrolled at least half-time every fall and spring semester
  • Must have maintained enrollment status for every semester. (For example, a student who enrolled in full-time hours must have finished the semester with at least 12 credit hours.)
  • Must meet all other continuing eligibility criteria as stated in TSAC’s TELS policy.
• Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year.  The FAFSA must be processed every year by September 1.

A student may regain the TELS award beginning with the semester after attempting 48, 72, or 96 hours as defined by TSAC’s TELS policy.  Awards cannot be applied retroactively to prior semesters.  A student must submit a Regain Option Form to notify the Financial Aid Office of eligibility under the Regain Provision.

Example 1:

A student had a 2.63 after 27 attempted hours and therefore lost eligibility for TELS at the 24-hour bracket.  After 54 attempted hours (at the 48-hour bracket), the student has a 3.02 TELS GPA.  The student will be eligible to receive the award beginning with the next semester.  The student will not be eligible for any retroactive awards for previous semesters.  All attempted hours and grades will count toward TELS calculations, including classes taken in semesters the student did not receive a TELS award.

Example 2:

A student had a 2.59 after 32 attempted hours and therefore lost eligibility for TELS at the 24-hour bracket.  After 48 attempted hours, the student has a 3.14 MTSU GPA but only a 2.98 TELS GPA.  (The difference may be due to dual-enrollment classes which don’t count in the TELS GPA or repeated classes which do count in the TELS GPA.)  The student will not be eligible for a TELS award at this time.  However, the student may be able to regain the award after the next bracket, at 72 attempted hours.  The student may also exercise the Repeat Option listed above to exclude one repeated grade from the TELS GPA; if the class was retaken before the 48-hour bracket and the new TELS GPA is at least 3.0, the student may be eligible to receive a TELS award beginning with the next semester.

Application Deadlines

A student must apply for a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship every year by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the appropriate award year.  The FAFSA must be processed by the following deadlines:

• September 1, for awards beginning with the fall semester.
• February 1, for awards beginning with the spring semester.
• June 1, for awards beginning with the summer term.

A student who fails to have a FAFSA processed by the deadline for the fall term will retain eligibility for the TELS award but will not be able to receive the award for the fall term.  The student may receive a TELS award beginning with the spring term if a FAFSA is processed by the spring deadline, or may qualify for an award in the summer term, if a current-year FAFSA is processed by the summer deadline.

Awards cannot be applied retroactively in regard to FAFSA deadlines: If a student’s FAFSA is not processed by the deadline for a semester, the student will not be eligible for an award for that semester, even if a FAFSA is later filed.  All attempted hours and grades will be included in the TELS GPA, including hours and grades for semesters in which the student did not receive a TELS award.

Example 1:

A student enrolls for the Fall 2005 semester but does not file a FAFSA for the current year until August 28, 2005.  The FAFSA is processed on September 4, 2005, after the September 1 deadline for fall.  The student will not be eligible for a fall TELS award but will be able to receive $1650 for the spring term.  (Please Note: The student may have eligibility for the summer term because she did not receive a fall award.  She should check with the Financial Aid Office in late spring about summer eligibility.)

Example 2:

A student enrolls for the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters but does not file a 2005-2006 FAFSA until April 15, 2006.  The FAFSA is processed on April 19, 2006, after the fall and spring deadlines.  The student will not be eligible for a fall or spring TELS award.  However, the student may be able to receive a one-semester award for the summer term.  He should check with the Financial Aid Office in late spring about summer eligibility.