[Oasfaa] Tuition Scholarship Program Repealed

[Fair, Bryce]

Last Friday, April 19th, Governor Keating signed HB 1440 which repeals the Oklahoma Tuition Scholarship Program (OTSP).  As you will recall, the OTSP was originally created in 1999 and was intended to become available for students graduating high school in 2003.  The program would have offered a 2-year tuition scholarship to students meeting the following requirements: 26 ACT, 3.25 GPA, top 15% of class, family income up to $70,000.  The OTSP also had a unique condition that any other state or federal tuition aid the student received would count against this scholarship (this is a similar condition with the federal Hope Tax Credit, for which many of these students will be eligible).  The OTSP was projected to cost $2.5 million the first year and about $4.8 million each year thereafter.

A task force was created by the Legislature last year to review this program and all other state grant and scholarship programs in light of funding obligations for existing programs and the overall state budget environment.  That Task Force, which included OASFAA members, recommended that the Legislature reconsider implementing the OTSP due to the funding needs of programs such as OTAG, OHLAP, and Academic Scholars.  The State Regents endorsed the recommendation and sought this legislation to repeal the program.

The bill passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives 89-4 on March 7 and passed the Oklahoma Senate last Tuesday, April 16, by a 41-0 vote.  

The bill also contains an amendment related to the Academic Scholars Program.  You can view the final version of the bill at the site shown below.

Signed version of HB 1440:  http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/48th/2002/2R/HB/1440.pdf


Bryce Fair
Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Phone:  (405) 225-9162
Fax:  (405) 225-9230
E-mail:  bfair at osrhe.edu

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 108850
Oklahoma City, OK  73101-8850

Street Address:
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK  73104