Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
16
Some who got a TSU scholarship didn't qualify
Students with high school grade-point averages as low as 1.68 --a C-minus average --and ACT scores as low as 13 received academic scholarships from Tennessee State University President James Hefner and the TSU Foundation over a three-year period cited by state auditors.
But the majority of students who received foundation honors scholarships from 2000 to 2003 had high school GPAs of 3.6 or better, and about 80% of them have earned at least a 3.0 at TSU, according to data The Tennessean obtained under
state public records laws.
Auditors reported last month that about one in three scholarship recipients didn't meet at least one of the two criteria, which the auditors cited as a 3.3 high scho
ol
PA and a score of 21 on the ACT college-entr
ance exam. The top score on the ACT is a 36.
But Hefner gave those students scholarships anyway because he saw their leadership skills or participation in extracurricular activities, according to a comment by TSU's administration that was included in the audit. As a result, some qualified students did not receive awards, the auditors found.
TSU officials have said the 3.3 GPA, though listed on the foundation's Web site, was not the actual requirement. Students actually need a 3.0 --a straight B average --and a 21 to earn an honors scholarship, they've said.
The data reviewed by The Tennessean does not list students' names or any other facts about them. Only ACT scores and high school and college GPAs are
shown. Dewayne Wright, a TSU spokesman, said the college GPAs reflect students' work as of the spring semester. Some students have graduated.
According to the da
ta, one TS
U student got a scholarship with a 2.14 GPA and a 14 on the ACT; anoth
er made it with a 2.28 and a 16; and another had a 2.58 and a 15. Overall, seven students out of about 250 had GPAs of or below 2.5, the midpoint between a B and a C on the grade-point scale.
The student with the 1.68 GPA scored a 27, a strong result, on the ACT, and compiled a 3.53 GPA at TSU. Another student did only slightly better in high school, compiling a 1.8 GPA, but scored a 21 on the entrance exam, which would be enough to earn one of the state's new lottery-funded scholarships. His or her GPA at TSU is just a 2.03, however.
The student with the 13 on the ACT had a 3.14 GPA in high school, an average somewhere between a B and a B-plus, but sank to a 2.29 in college.
At
the same time, 25 students had perfect 4.0 GPAs in high school, and six had ACT scores of at least 30. Many others posted lesser but still impressive numbers.
Brian Noland, associate executive
director of the
Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said studies have shown students who scor
e at least a 23 on the ACT have more than a 50% chance of graduating from college, as do students with a high school GPA of at least 3.2 to 3.4.
Since getting to TSU, most of the students have succeeded, the data show. While 15 GPAs of 2.5 or less stick out, including a 0.52 and a 1.39, 78 students earned a 3.6 or better, including five with a 4.0.
The Rev. Inman Otey, TSU's career services director and a supporter of Hefner's, said the president made good decisions about scholarship-worthy students.
''That was based on his personal involvement with them or with the people who recommended them,'' Otey said. ''It wasn't just arbitrary. His track record shows hi
s good judgment.''
Getting in
To earn a foundation honors scholarship from Tennessee State University, students must have a 3.0 high school GPA out of a possible 4.0 and a s
core of 21 out of a poss
ible 36 on the ACT college-entrance exam, according to TSU officials. Citing a TSU Foundation Web site, state auditors used
a 3.3 GPA as the standard in evaluating whether students actually qualified for scholarships from 2000 to 2003.
For regular admission to TSU, in-state students must have at least a 19 on the ACT or 900 on the SAT and a 2.25 GPA. For out-of-state students, the required GPA is a 2.5, according to TSU's Web site.
The state's new lottery-funded scholarships require students to have either a 19 on the ACT, an 890 on the SAT or a 3.0 GPA.
******************
A TSU diploma isn't worth the paper it's written on. TSU, home of the Bluegum Cannibals, is a n-gger school, for n-ggers, run by n-ggers. Like many HBCUs, TSU struggles to meet
accreditation every time it comes up. Seriously, I doubt that most negro gra
duates of TSU could pass a GED e
xam.
T.N.B.
Some who got a TSU scholarship didn't qualify
Students with high school grade-point averages as low as 1.68 --a C-minus average --and ACT scores as low as 13 received academic scholarships from Tennessee State University President James Hefner and the TSU Foundation over a three-year period cited by state auditors.
But the majority of students who received foundation honors scholarships from 2000 to 2003 had high school GPAs of 3.6 or better, and about 80% of them have earned at least a 3.0 at TSU, according to data The Tennessean obtained under
state public records laws.
Auditors reported last month that about one in three scholarship recipients didn't meet at least one of the two criteria, which the auditors cited as a 3.3 high scho
ol
PA and a score of 21 on the ACT college-entr
ance exam. The top score on the ACT is a 36.
But Hefner gave those students scholarships anyway because he saw their leadership skills or participation in extracurricular activities, according to a comment by TSU's administration that was included in the audit. As a result, some qualified students did not receive awards, the auditors found.
TSU officials have said the 3.3 GPA, though listed on the foundation's Web site, was not the actual requirement. Students actually need a 3.0 --a straight B average --and a 21 to earn an honors scholarship, they've said.
The data reviewed by The Tennessean does not list students' names or any other facts about them. Only ACT scores and high school and college GPAs are
shown. Dewayne Wright, a TSU spokesman, said the college GPAs reflect students' work as of the spring semester. Some students have graduated.
According to the da
ta, one TS
U student got a scholarship with a 2.14 GPA and a 14 on the ACT; anoth
er made it with a 2.28 and a 16; and another had a 2.58 and a 15. Overall, seven students out of about 250 had GPAs of or below 2.5, the midpoint between a B and a C on the grade-point scale.
The student with the 1.68 GPA scored a 27, a strong result, on the ACT, and compiled a 3.53 GPA at TSU. Another student did only slightly better in high school, compiling a 1.8 GPA, but scored a 21 on the entrance exam, which would be enough to earn one of the state's new lottery-funded scholarships. His or her GPA at TSU is just a 2.03, however.
The student with the 13 on the ACT had a 3.14 GPA in high school, an average somewhere between a B and a B-plus, but sank to a 2.29 in college.
At
the same time, 25 students had perfect 4.0 GPAs in high school, and six had ACT scores of at least 30. Many others posted lesser but still impressive numbers.
Brian Noland, associate executive
director of the
Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said studies have shown students who scor
e at least a 23 on the ACT have more than a 50% chance of graduating from college, as do students with a high school GPA of at least 3.2 to 3.4.
Since getting to TSU, most of the students have succeeded, the data show. While 15 GPAs of 2.5 or less stick out, including a 0.52 and a 1.39, 78 students earned a 3.6 or better, including five with a 4.0.
The Rev. Inman Otey, TSU's career services director and a supporter of Hefner's, said the president made good decisions about scholarship-worthy students.
''That was based on his personal involvement with them or with the people who recommended them,'' Otey said. ''It wasn't just arbitrary. His track record shows hi
s good judgment.''
Getting in
To earn a foundation honors scholarship from Tennessee State University, students must have a 3.0 high school GPA out of a possible 4.0 and a s
core of 21 out of a poss
ible 36 on the ACT college-entrance exam, according to TSU officials. Citing a TSU Foundation Web site, state auditors used
a 3.3 GPA as the standard in evaluating whether students actually qualified for scholarships from 2000 to 2003.
For regular admission to TSU, in-state students must have at least a 19 on the ACT or 900 on the SAT and a 2.25 GPA. For out-of-state students, the required GPA is a 2.5, according to TSU's Web site.
The state's new lottery-funded scholarships require students to have either a 19 on the ACT, an 890 on the SAT or a 3.0 GPA.
******************
A TSU diploma isn't worth the paper it's written on. TSU, home of the Bluegum Cannibals, is a n-gger school, for n-ggers, run by n-ggers. Like many HBCUs, TSU struggles to meet
accreditation every time it comes up. Seriously, I doubt that most negro gra
duates of TSU could pass a GED e
xam.
T.N.B.