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Lottery tickets are the new source for scholarship funding
The number of states using lottery ticket revenues to offer merit scholarships for postsecondary education has increased, but Illinois shows no signs of jumping on board.
Tennessee recently became the 14th state to create a college-scholarship program based on the state's lottery revenues. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale in January, and the scholarships will be awarded in the fall of 2004.
The scholarships will be offered to applicants with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a score of 19 or higher on the ACT. Each qualified student will receive a $3,000 award for attending a four-year university or a $1,500 award for a two-year institution. Students from families with annual incomes of $36,000 or less will be eligible for an additional $1,000. Students in financial need may also qualify for another grant with less rigorous requirements.
While many financial aid representatives said the program sounds like the perfect solution to helping students afford college while still avoiding renewed pressure on state budgets, criticisms still remain.
Daniel Mann, director of the Financial Aid Office at SIUC, said the amount of projected lottery revenue for education in some states might not be as great as it sounds.
"It's often presented to the public that lottery revenues would mean additional money for education," Mann said. "Unfortunately, in some states, lottery revenue just offers an opportunity to offset shortages from other state sources. There can end up being very little additional money."
The two kinds of funding for financial aid are merit-based awards and need-based awards. Merit awards consider factors such as GPA, class rank and ACT scores while need-based awards consider annual household income as an important factor.
Concerns have been raised about the way merit-based awards funded by lottery revenue often shift aid away from students in need. Mann said that, historically, financial aid was developed for students in need, and this continues to be the tradition in Illinois.
"Need-based financial aid can mean the difference in a student getting to go to college at all," Mann said. "Approximately 98 percent of Illinois state-funded assistance goes to those in need, and I believe that trend should continue."
While Illinois lottery revenue is currently a significant source of capital for the state's Common School Fund, it only supports K-12 public schools.
In 2002, the Illinois Lottery had sales that totaled $1.59 billion. Of this amount, $555 million served as the state's contribution to elementary and secondary schools statewide.
Mann said that even without the lottery, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission offers plenty of programs to help students afford college.
"ISAC offers many options for financial assistance," Mann said. "Grants, scholarships and loans are available for students who need additional funding.
"Our state grants rank No. 3 in the nation, and we help students take out fewer loans."
Mann said that assistance is also available for students in search of financial aid who do not meet annual income restrictions.
"Most colleges in Illinois have developed their own financial award packages to help academically outstanding students pay for college expenses," Mann said. "For the 2003-2004 school year, SIU wants to award merit scholarships to 250 incoming freshmen. The awards will range from $3,000 up to $10, 424."
Mann said the state has not stopped showing interest in providing financial aid to students and does not believe changing the dynamics of the lottery will result in a marked increase in scholarship awards.
"While we were disappointed with the budget cuts, Illinois has continued to work hard to provide financial assistance to all students interested in going to college," Mann said.
When an increase in tuition was approved two years ago, SIUC still made efforts to respond to financial aid needs. According to Mann, Chancellor Walter Wendler was at the forefront of some important decisions.
"He set aside $1 million for merit-based grants, $1 million for need-based grants, and another $1.5 million was used to create undergraduate assistantships and fund the minimum wage increase," Mann said.
Even if Illinois continues to shun the new wave of lottery funding, Mann believes the state will continue to take care of its own.
"The feedback on what our financial aid programs have to offer has been very positive," Mann said. "It's hard to keep everybody happy, but SIU will continue to keep trying."
