FAITH scholarship funding scare fuels push for state lawmakers to step up  ...Middle East

My’Kayla Gaines Cochnauer was delivering DoorDash orders Wednesday when a text from her adoptive mother ended days of uncertainty over how she would pay for her first semester at Mississippi State University.

The message shared a screenshot of an email telling the 18-year-old from Natchez that her Fostering Access and Inspiring True Hope, or FAITH, Scholarship had been restored — a week after the state Office of Student Financial Aid told applicants the awards would not be funded.

Her family had been scrambling to figure out how to cover roughly $5,000 in college costs before she was supposed to move into her dorm and begin studying psychology in mid-August. 

“I am really happy that I and other kids can now go to college without having to worry about work or where my next dollars will come from,” Cochnauer said. “But I wonder why it took all this media attention to fix this problem?” 

Cochnauer is among 170 former foster youths whose scholarships will now be covered for their first semester of college after the Woodward Hines Education Foundation pledged $800,000 to help fill a funding gap in the state aid program. The foundation is also soliciting donations to help cover the scholarships..

The foundation’s contribution is a one-time fix. Mississippi’s financial aid office still faces a $7.3 million shortfall that could reduce aid for nearly 27,000 students, such as those receiving the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG), Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant (MESG) and the Higher Education Legislative Plan (HELP). The shortage could affect programs serving low-income students and teachers as well as the FAITH scholarship recipients.

Woodward Hines President and CEO Jim McHale learned about the FAITH  scholarship funding issue on Monday. The foundation’s board met Tuesday and unanimously approved a plan to cover eligible students’ first college semester. Officials at state universities and college foundations have also pledged to support FAITH scholarship students.  

But private donations can’t solve Mississippi’s broader financial aid funding crisis, McHale said. 

“If legislators say they want a strong, educated population and economic workforce then it’s imperative that they invest in the aid that covers tuition of young students and adults looking to boost their careers or education,” he said. 

READ MORE: FAITH Scholarships get $800K boost from Woodward Hines foundation

Earlier this year, state financial aid office officials requested $6.5 million from the Legislature for FAITH scholarships and the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program, which helps eligible teachers repay student loans. Lawmakers appropriated $3 million for both programs. The financial aid office applied the full appropriation to the FAITH scholarships, leaving the loan repayment program unfunded for the first time since it was created in 2021.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, did not respond to a request for comment before publication. 

Some colleges and universities, including Delta State and Mississippi Christian University — formerly Mississippi College — have committed to financially supporting FAITH recipients, said Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford who is chair of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee.

The state financial aid office prioritized new FAITH applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, said Jennifer Rogers, the agency’s executive director. The $3 million was enough to cover scholarship renewals for 159 students and first-time awards for 23 new applicants, she said. 

With the Woodward Hines foundation’s support, about 170 new applicants will get scholarships, too.

Most of those students, 95 of them, plan to attend community colleges, Boyd said.

On Wednesday, officials notified the new applicants that the scholarships would be funded after all.

At least that’s true for this year.

Demand for state financial aid has grown, Rogers said. In 2025, the financial aid office distributed more than $51 million to 22,377 students. Changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, and state eligibility requirements have expanded the pool of students who are now eligible for aid, she said. Rogers also said  a reduction in the number of credit hours required to qualify as a full-time student and changes to the HELP grant made another 4,520 students eligible for state-funded grants.

State lawmakers need to prevent another funding shortfall, said Rep. Bill Kinkade, a Republican from Byhalia, who sponsored the legislation that created the FAITH scholarship in 2022. The scholarship also has special meaning for Kinkade, who spent part of his childhood in a group home in Jackson. 

“We made a promise to these students and we will try to honor them by funding those scholarships next year,” Kinkade said.

Kinkade said he plans to work with lawmakers before the legislative session starts in January to address anticipated funding needs for the state financial aid office.

Kell Smith, executive director of Mississippi’s Community College Board, said he was grateful for the recent work to ensure FAITH scholarship students have the opportunity to attend college. 

“The FAITH scholarship is integral to a population like first-generation students that oftentimes need help navigating higher education and processes,” Smith said. “This is just an opportunity for us to continue to provide those training and educational opportunities that are so beneficial to our students and to our families and to the state.” 

Tammy Cochnauer, My’Kayla’s adoptive mother, said she wants the Legislature to establish rules requiring earlier notification whenever scholarship funding is in jeopardy. The funding crisis erects burdens for students who are determined to get an education, she said. 

“The state should be encouraging students like My’Kayla to stay in Mississippi to pursue a  higher education, and eventually give back to our communities,” Tammy Cochnauer said. 

For My’Kayla, the immediate uncertainty is over. She plans to move into her Creswell dorm room at Mississippi State on Aug. 14 

As grateful as she is for the financial support, she worries about scholarships disappearing again. 

“It’s good and all that we got it returned back,” My’Kayla Gaines Cochnauer said. “But 170 kids were left to figure out what would come next. It doesn’t erase what happened, and it doesn’t erase the feeling of being abandoned by the system.”

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