TENNESSEE EDUCATION LOTTERY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
This information is for students who are recipients of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) which may include the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship, Aspire Award, and General Assembly Merit Scholarship. Please carefully read this entire form. The information being provided is subject to change.
TELS Program Administration
The TELS Program is administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC). You can review a summary of eligibility requirements at https://www.collegefortn.org/tennessee-financial-aid/. You may contact a TSAC TELS representative by calling 800-342-1663 or (615) 741-1346.
The TELS Program is locally administered by an NSCC (Nashville State Community College) Scholarship Coordinator. You may contact the Financial Aid Office at (615) 353-3250 or email financial.aid@nscc.edu. Have your student A# ready when calling the office. Include your student A# in all email correspondence with the Financial Aid office. If possible, please use your student email for all written correspondence.
Quick Tips for Keeping Your Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) Award
Aim for at least a 3.0 TELS GPA.
Reminder: The TELS GPA is different from your academic GPA, which may or may not include repeated coursework.
Enroll every fall and spring semester to maintain continuous enrollment.
Do not withdraw or stop attending your classes. This is a change of enrollment. Always contact the Financial Aid Office before withdrawing from one or more classes.
Be careful to take only the classes required for your program of study and work hard to pass your classes on the first attempt.
Work with your Advisor to determine your plan of study.
Eligibility Requirements for TELS Awards
Be a Tennessee resident pursuant to TCA 49-8-104 and be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. A dependent student’s residency is based on the parent’s state of residence.
Be otherwise eligible, admitted and enrolled at least six (6) credit hours in a HOPE-eligible institution within 16 months of high school graduation from an eligible high school, homeschool, or GED/HiSet program.
Minimum 21 ACT (concordant equivalent on the SAT) on a national or state test date; or 3.0 high school grade point average (GPA) for entering first-year students graduating from an eligible public or category 1,2, or 3 private high school.
GED/HiSet students must have the minimum qualifying scores (GED Revised 170/HiSet minimum average 15) including the minimum ACT/SAT test scores.
Home School graduates must have a minimum 21 ACT score and must have been enrolled in the homeschool for at least one (1) academic year preceding completion. Home school GPAs (Grade Point Average) are not considered.
File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the deadline. For future award years, students must renew their FAFSA prior to the application deadline to be awarded that semester.
Fall deadline – September 1
Spring and summer – February 1
Award Facts
Some Lottery Scholarship funds may require additional documents verifying the accuracy of the information reported on the FAFSA.
Students cannot simultaneously receive more than two TELS Program Scholarships. In cases when the student is eligible for both the supplemental General Assembly Merit Scholarship (GAMS) and the Aspire Award, the Aspire Award takes precedence.
To receive a TELS award at NSCC, you must be pursuing an eligible program of study and must minimally be enrolled half-time. Awards (payments & refunds) are based on enrollment in eligible courses within the course program of study (CPoS).
All attempted hours are considered in the TELS benchmark GPA calculation, regardless of applicability to the program of study.
Awards may be adjusted if necessary to preclude an over-award in relationship to other financial aid assistance being received.
Award determination is based on enrollment at the close of the census date (14th calendar day) of each semester.
Students may continue to receive a TELS award until the first of the following events: The student has earned an advanced degree; or five years have passed from the date of initial enrollment at any postsecondary institution.
Maintaining Eligibility for the TELS Program
TELS eligibility will be reviewed at the end of the semester in which the student has attempted (from all postsecondary institutions combined) a total of 24, 48, 72, 96 credit hours or any subsequent multiples of 24 (benchmarks). At 24 and 48 attempted credit hours, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75. At 72 and 96 credit hours or any subsequent multiples of 24, the student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Students measured at 72 and subsequent 24 credit hour increments and fail to meet the 3.0 cumulative GPA have possible provisional or regain options. Failure to meet the TELS GPA requirement is non-appealable. Students may utilize a one-time repeat option to exclude a prior course grade and include only the most recent grade earned in the same course. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office to utilize provisional, regain, or repeat options.
Additionally, students must maintain “satisfactory academic progress” as measured for Federal Title IV Programs.
Except for approved medical or personal leaves of absence, students must maintain continuous enrollment by attending fall and spring semesters each academic year regardless of whether they are currently receiving TELS funds. Summer enrollment is optional.
Enrollment of TELS recipients is measured each semester at the census date. Students must maintain the same enrollment status for the rest of the semester as at the census date.
If you never engage in a class or violate the instructor’s attendance policy before the close of the census date, you may be required to repay some or all lottery funds for the semester.
Appealing a Loss of Eligibility
There is no appeal for a TELS loss due to GPA. However, if at the next benchmark you meet the TELS GPA requirement, you may regain the award if all other eligibility requirements are met.
Change of Enrollment Status: As of the census date, students enrolled full-time (12 or more hours) who subsequently drop (officially or unofficially) below full-time, or students enrolled part-time (6 to 11 credit hours) who subsequently drop (officially or unofficially) below part-time lose future eligibility to participate in the TELS Program.
Leave of Absence: A student may be granted medical or personal leaves of absence from attendance and resume receiving an award(s) upon resumption of attendance at an eligible postsecondary institution so long as all other applicable eligibility criteria are met. Students must request a leave of absence before the break of enrollment. An appeal form and supporting documentation will be required.
Appeals with supporting documentation will only be considered for the following extenuating circumstances:
Illness of the student
Illness or death of an immediate family member
Extreme financial hardship of the student or student’s immediate family member
Fulfillment of a religious commitment expected of all students of that faith
Other extraordinary circumstances beyond the student’s control where continued attendance by the student creates substantial hardship
Important note on appeals: Students have thirty (30) calendar days after being notified of the loss of scholarship to submit their appeal request form, including the student statement, and supporting documentation. Any appeal or documentation submitted after thirty (30) calendar days will be an automatic denial. All appeals are reviewed by the Institution Review Panel (IRP) at NSCC. For more information regarding appeals, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
If you have any other questions not covered in this document, please contact the Financial Aid office at NSCC.