The Tennessee Pledge Scholarships were approved by the board of trustees in summer 2005. The first institutionally funded, need-based scholarship of its kind in the state, the Pledge guarantees that academically qualified, low-income students can attend UT for four years without incurring debt. To qualify, students must demonstrate need at or below the 150 percent poverty level defined by the federal government. There were 189 in-state freshmen receiving the scholarship and the number rose to 250 in 2006. The program is modeled after the University of Virginia’s Access Program and the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Covenant Program.