The Pittsburgh Promise college scholarship program said it's willing to give a second chance to high school graduates with grade-point averages too low to meet regular eligibility requirements.

Speaking Thursday at a Downtown summit on high school dropouts, Saleem Ghubril, the Promise's executive director, said a handful of students already attend Community College of Allegheny County on a Promise-sponsored probationary program.

According to official eligibility guidelines, 2009 graduates of city high schools had to post a cumulative grade average of at least 2.25 to qualify for Promise scholarships of up to $20,000 per person.

But Mr. Ghubril said a pilot program at CCAC was set up for about a half-dozen students who graduated high school last spring with grade averages between 2.0 and 2.24.

This semester, they're taking a prescribed set of courses focusing on basic subjects, Mr. Ghubril said.

If they complete the semester with a grade average of at least 2.0 -- the same college grade average required of all Promise recipients -- they can take any CCAC classes they choose next term.

If the students complete the second term with a 2.0 or better, they will be considered regular Promise recipients and eligible to use their remaining allotments of Promise funds at dozens of private and public schools statewide, Mr. Ghubril said.

CCAC's attendance costs are lower than those of four-year schools and because many of the students qualified for need-based federal grants, the Promise's investment in the probationary program is minimal. Some students received only $1,000 from the Promise, Mr. Ghubril said.

He said the second-chance program was started so that as many students as possible receive scholarships.

Mr. Ghubril wasn't immediately able to say how many 2009 graduates qualified for scholarships, but said fewer than 150 missed out because of the grade requirement. He said some may not have had enough time to raise their grades for the Promise, which awarded its first scholarships to 2008 graduates.

Some parents had criticized the grade requirement, saying that if their sons or daughters were admitted to college, the Promise shouldn't deny them aid awarded to other city graduates.

According to eligibility guidelines, next year's high school graduates must have grade averages of 2.5 or better to qualify for Promise scholarships. But Mr. Ghubril said the CCAC option likely would be offered to graduates with grade averages between 2.0 and 2.49.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.