Now 20, what has HOPE accomplished? | www.myajc.com

One of the most lauded state-sponsored scholarships in the nation turns 20 this month. Its biggest anniversary gift? Having helped more than 1.5 million Georgians pay for college.

Former Gov. Zell Miller created the lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship to give students an incentive to work hard in school and focus on college. He never dreamed it would be such a landmark program for Georgia.

Political and college leaders credit HOPE with changing attitudes toward college. It lifted the state’s reputation. It also boosted the reputations of the state’s top institutions including the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.

Enrollment in technical colleges has tripled since the scholarship’s founding in 1993, while the percentage of Georgians with at least a bachelor’s degree increased from 25.7 percent to 37.4 percent.

“I was young and a dreamer,” said Miller, now 81, of the HOPE, which stands for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally. “That it would come to this type of fruition means a lot.”

Yet HOPE’s success comes with some qualifiers.

HOPE hasn’t significantly increased the number of kids going to college who otherwise would not have, studies have concluded. The percentage of Georgians with degrees would have climbed anyway, due to job market demands and more access to loans or other aid.

HOPE overwhelmingly benefits some of the wealthiest counties in the state, even though some of the poorest counties are more likely to play the Georgia Lottery, which funds the scholarship.

When pushing for HOPE, Miller said the state would see a boost in economic development thanks to a better-educated workforce. Yet new research shows HOPE is not necessarily keeping the state’s best and brightest from leaving Georgia after they earn a degree.

Still, college leaders say there is no denying HOPE’s impact.

“HOPE changed the conversation and now families all across the state talk about sending their children to college,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said.

“We created a culture of high expectations and gave people an incentive to do well in school and continue their education beyond high school,” said Huckaby, who was Miller’s budget director.