ATLANTA — A state senate committee looking into the affordability of higher education in Georgia finds the state needs more options for needs-based financial aid to help students achieve their goals.

State Senator Nan Orrock is chair of the committee and says, “we know we’ve invested heavily in the HOPE Scholarship and we know now that with the economy and the realities, that does not even get the job done.”

The committee finalized their report which details the problems some students face with affording college. A report released earlier this year finds Georgia has the second highest average student loan debt in the nation.

The report also finds that a needs-based program would cost the state more than $126M for more than 98K students.