MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Middle Tennessee State University is changing its financial aid package to encourage students to graduate in four years.
The university announced on Wednesday that it will supplement the Hope Lottery Scholarships of incoming students who stay on track to graduate. The school will pay $500 to Hope scholarship students after each of their first two years.
The school also will pay what it calls a "Finish Line Scholarship" to graduating seniors. That scholarship will return any tuition increases the student paid over the four years.
In addition, MTSU will begin guaranteeing Transfer Academic Scholarships to all qualifying students from the state's 14 community colleges.
And the school is lowering the minimum ACT scores required to qualify for five major scholarships.
The changes come after word on Tuesday that MTSU enrollment fell this fall by nearly five percent.