Beginning this fall, college students in Georgia will be less stressed when it comes to keeping their scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year. It is because those who are taking challenging courses in science, technology, engineering and math, will be getting a boost in their final score.
According to The Red & Black, the House Bill 801 which is also known as the "Rambling Wrecktification" Bill will be providing a half point or 0.5 point increase to the average HOPE GPA for each STEM courses that Georgia college students have decided to take. That is if they have initially earned a B, C or D. In order to qualify, the students must also maintain a 3.0 average.
The House Bill 801 was approved by the Georgia General Assembly in a 167-0 vote by the House on Feb. 4, 2016, and 54-0 vote in the Senate on Mar 16 of last year. It was sponsored by the Speaker Pro Tempore, Jan Jones. It was Jones who took the efforts in pushing the bill so as to encourage and increase workforce in the STEM field for the present as well as for the future. As soon as the legislation is in effect, it will encourage more students to take more STEM courses as they will no longer have to worry so much about its effect on their HOPE Scholarship.
Students who are taking majors in math and science from Kennesaw State University said that they are happy and appreciated the extra help when it comes to their grades, WSB-TV Atlanta reported. Another student majoring in math also said that some classes are very hard and that she is also grateful about the help.
The boost in GPA is not only intended to help students keep their HOPE scholarship. It also aims to encourage more students to take on the challenge of taking STEM courses and pursue careers in these fields.