2023 Tennessee Code › Title 49 - EDUCATION (§§ 49-1-NEW — 49-50-1703) › Chapter 4 - FINANCIAL AID (§§ 49-4-101 — 49-4-1008) › Part 9 - STATE LOTTERY PROCEEDS (§§ 49-4-901 — 49-4-944) › Section 49-4-911 - HOPE scholarship - Continuation requirements

(a)
(1)
To continue to receive a Tennessee HOPE scholarship, a student at an eligible postsecondary institution shall continue to meet all applicable nonacademic requirements for the scholarship and shall reapply for the scholarship upon attempting twenty-four (24), forty-eight (48), seventy-two (72), ninety-six (96) or any subsequent multiple of twenty-four (24) semester hours. At the end of the semesters in which the student has attempted a total of twenty-four (24) and forty-eight (48) semester hours, the student shall have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 to continue to receive the Tennessee HOPE scholarship. At the end of any subsequent semester at which continuing eligibility for the scholarship is reviewed under this subdivision (a)(1), a student shall achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 to continue to receive the Tennessee HOPE scholarship.
(2)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(1) to the contrary, a student who fails to achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 when continuing eligibility is reviewed at the end of seventy-two (72) semester hours or at a subsequent semester when continuing eligibility is reviewed under subdivision (a)(1), but who has a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 and a semester grade point average of at least 3.0 for the semester in which continuing eligibility under subdivision (a)(1) was reviewed, shall be eligible to continue to receive a Tennessee HOPE scholarship for one (1) additional semester; provided, that the student enrolls full-time in that semester and the student is still eligible for a scholarship under §
49-4-913
. Subsequently, the student shall be eligible to receive the scholarship, if the student maintains both full-time and continuous enrollment, a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 and a grade point average of at least 3.0 in the last semester in which the student attended full-time. If, however, the student achieves a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 at any time when continuing eligibility is reviewed under subdivision (a)(1), then the student's continuing eligibility for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship shall be reviewed under subdivision (a)(1) at the next benchmark.
(b)
A student receiving a Tennessee HOPE scholarship who ceases to be academically eligible for the scholarship because the student fails to meet the requirements of either subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) at the end of a semester at which continuing eligibility is reviewed pursuant to the applicable subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) may regain the HOPE scholarship if the student continues to meet all applicable nonacademic requirements for the scholarship, attends an eligible postsecondary institution without the HOPE scholarship, meets the requirements of either subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) at the end of a subsequent semester when continuing eligibility is reviewed under the applicable subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) and reapplies for the scholarship. A student who regains the scholarship and then loses the scholarship a second time by failing to meet the requirements of either subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) at the end of a subsequent semester in which academic qualifications are reviewed, may not regain the scholarship. No retroactive award of a Tennessee HOPE scholarship shall be made under this subsection (b) for semester hours attempted in order to regain the scholarship.
(c)
If a student ceases to be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship at any time for any nonacademic reason, then the student shall not be able to regain the Tennessee HOPE scholarship.
(d)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) and §
49-4-902
to the contrary, a student may choose to repeat one (1) course one (1) time, and have the student's cumulative grade point average or semester grade point average, or both, calculated as if the only attempt at the course was the attempt in which the higher grade was achieved for the purposes of determining whether the student meets the continuation requirements of subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2). Only one (1) course may be repeated for favorable treatment in calculating a grade point average under this subsection (d). TSAC shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this subsection (d). The rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
Acts 2003 , ch. 298, § 1; 2004, ch. 840, § 13; 2005, ch. 481, §§ 15, 22; 2008 , ch. 1142, § 3; 2009 , ch. 243, § 1.