Middle Georgia Technical College

HOPE Cap Removal Gives High School Students Greater Access to College Courses

Warner Robins - Students heading back to high school this year will have one less worry on their minds thanks to legislation that took effect July 1. High school students in Dooly, Houston, Peach, and Pulaski counties will be able to enroll in college courses at Middle Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins or Hawkinsville without depleting their allotment of HOPE Grant or HOPE Scholarship hours.

Prior to this legislation any hours taken by dual enrollment high school students counted toward the student’s HOPE credit hour limitation. Now, students can still enroll in college classes for free without the worry of using HOPE funds before firm decisions are made regarding postsecondary education plans.

Under the Dual Enrollment program, a student may attend Middle Georgia Technical College while also attending high school. The student may receive Carnegie unit credit from a high school and postsecondary credit hours from MGTC for the same course. Prior to this bill being signed, however, a high school student dually enrolled at a college or university under the HOPE program had to count those hours toward their total maximum number of hours allowed for the HOPE Grant or Scholarship. With the new legislation signed by Governor Sonny Perdue, this is no longer the case.

During the 2007-2008 school year, there were 277students dually enrolled at Middle Georgia Technical College.

For more information on the Dual Enrollment Program at Middle Georgia Technical College, call Alicia Long at 478-988-6800, ext. 4006, or log on to www.middlegatech.edu.