The Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), also known as Oklahoma’s Promise, is an early commitment financial aid program that covers tuition and other college costs for certain Oklahoma students.
Oklahoma’s Promise is open to students attending public or private high schools or being home-schooled, with family income not to exceed $60,000 at the time of enrollment (income thresholds are higher for families with more than two dependent children – for families with five or more children, the income threshold is $80,000). Eligible students must apply to the program no later than the summer after completing the 11thgrade. Students are required to graduate from high school with a 2.5 overall grade point average (GPA) for all four years and a 2.5 GPA on 17 required courses that constitute a college preparatory curriculum.
Eligible students receive a cash scholarship equal to tuition at a public university, which can be used to cover tuition, living expenses, books, and supplies. Students must enroll in a public or private 2- or 4-year Oklahoma college or in a career-technical center; meet the college’s admission requirements, and apply for additional financial aid. Once in college, students must maintain a minimum college GPA and meet other college requirements.
In 2022-23, there were 14,167 scholarship recipients in college. The number of recipients has declined every year since 2010-11, when the program served 20,085 students. There were 9,234 high school students enrolled in Oklahoma’s Promise in the 2023 high school graduation year, an increase of over 1,000 from 2019 but well below its peak high school enrollment of 10,635 in 2012.
OHLAP is funded from income tax revenues allocated directly to the OHLAP Trust Fund by the State Board of Equalization based on a request from the State Regents for Higher Education. The program received $62.6 million in state funding in FY 2023.