Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT › Division 10 - Commissioner of Higher Education › Chapter 2 - Student Financial Assistance Programs › Section 6 CSR 10-2.080 - Higher Education Academic Scholarship Program

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: The Higher Education Academic Scholarship
				  Program permits the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to provide academic
				  scholarships for eligible Missouri residents to attend an approved Missouri
				  college or university of their choice pursuant to the provisions included in
				  section 173.250, RSMo. This rule sets
				  forth qualifications required of student applicants for the scholarships,
				  criteria to be used in selecting scholarship recipients, and qualifications
				  which approved colleges or universities must meet.
(1) Definitions.
(A) Academic year or the period of the
				scholarship is the period from July 1 of any year through June 30 of the
				following year.
(B) ACT means the
				American College Testing Program.
(C) Applicant is anyone who applies to the
				Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) for a scholarship under the
				academic scholarship program and who qualifies under section
				173.1104, RSMo, excluding
				undergraduate status.
(D) Approved
				institution means any institution located in the state of Missouri that meets
				the requirements set forth in subdivision 173.1102.1(2) or (3), RSMo, and that
				has been approved under
				6 CSR
				10-2.140.
(E) Approved student deferment period or
				deferment is a period of time up to the maximum time allowed in section
				173.250, RSMo, during which an
				eligible initial or renewal recipient may cease enrollment without losing
				scholarship eligibility. The deferment shall begin on July 1 of the academic
				year for which the student's deferment was approved or July 1 following the
				most recent academic year that the student received scholarship
				assistance.
(F) Certificate of high
				school equivalence shall be a certificate that is awarded to an applicant who
				has successfully completed and passed the General Educational Development (GED)
				examination as established by the Commission on Educational Credit and
				Credentials of the American Council on Education (ACE).
(G) Completed secondary coursework or
				completion of secondary coursework shall be graduation from high school or the
				virtual public school established in section
				161.670, RSMo, receipt of a GED
				diploma, completion of a program of study through homeschooling, or any other
				program of academic instruction that satisfies the compulsory attendance
				requirement under section
				167.031, RSMo.
(H) Consortium agreement means a written
				agreement between two (2) or more approved institutions that allows students to
				take courses at a school other than the home school and have those courses
				count toward the degree or certificate at the home school that complies with
				the United States Department of Education requirements for federal student
				financial assistance.
(I)
				Continually enrolled shall be enrollment as a full-time student who receives
				scholarship assistance at an approved institution for at least one (1)
				semester, trimester, or quarter, not including summer terms, in the academic
				year for which the scholarship award was offered.
(J) CBHE means the Coordinating Board for
				Higher Education created by section
				173.005, RSMo.
(K) Expenses shall be any education-related
				expenses including but not limited to tuition, fees, and room and
				board.
(L) Full-time student shall
				be defined by the approved institution as a postsecondary student who is
				enrolled in and is carrying a sufficient number of credit hours or its
				equivalent (minimum twelve (12) credit hours) at the approved private or public
				Missouri institution to secure the degree or certificate toward which the
				student is working in accordance with paragraph (2)(A)5. of this rule.
				Provided, however, that an otherwise eligible student having a disability as
				defined by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C.
				1210112213) who, because of the student's
				disability, is unable to satisfy the statutory minimum requirements for
				full-time status under Title IV student aid programs shall be considered by the
				approved institution to be a full-time student and shall be considered to be
				making satisfactory academic progress, as defined in subsection (1)(W) of this
				rule, while carrying a minimum of six (6) credit hours or their equivalent at
				the approved institution.
(M)
				Higher Education Academic Scholarship Program or academic scholarship program
				shall mean the academic scholarship program provisions created by section
				173.250, RSMo.
(N) Initial recipient shall be any applicant
				who meets the eligibility requirements and is awarded an academic scholarship
				under the academic scholarship program in the academic year immediately
				following completion of secondary coursework.
(O) Medical need shall be a verified illness,
				disability, pregnancy, or other medical condition that prevents an eligible
				applicant from enrolling as a renewal recipient or which requires a recipient
				to cease all attendance at an approved institution in the academic year for
				which the scholarship award was originally offered.
(P) MDHE shall be the Missouri Department of
				Higher Education created by section
				173.005, RSMo.
(Q) Missouri test takers shall be all
				Missouri high school students taking the ACT examination or the SAT during the
				student's senior year in high school.
(R) Nonprofit organization shall be any
				organization which is organized under the laws of its home state as a
				not-for-profit corporation or organization, such as a charitable, scientific,
				or literary organization.
(S)
				Qualifying score shall be a composite score on the ACT examination or the SAT
				achieved in an eligible student's high school sophomore, junior, or senior year
				that is in the top five percent (5%) of Missouri test takers, as established at
				the beginning of an eligible student's final year of secondary
				coursework.
(T) Renewal recipient
				shall be any applicant who received an academic scholarship as an initial
				recipient under the academic scholarship program and meets the eligibility
				requirements under the provisions of this rule and requirements as defined by
				the approved institution and is awarded a renewable academic scholarship under
				the academic scholarship program.
(U) Resident of Missouri is any person who
				meets the requirements for resident status for Missouri set forth by the CBHE
				in 6 CSR
				10-3.010.
(V) SAT means the Scholastic Aptitude Test of
				the College Board.
(W) Satisfactory
				academic progress shall be a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least
				two and one-half (2.5) on a four-point (4.0) scale, or the equivalent on
				another scale, and, with the exception of grade point average, as otherwise
				determined by the approved institution's policies as applied to other students
				at the approved institution receiving assistance under Title IV financial aid
				programs included in the Higher Education Act of 1965. The calculation of CGPA
				shall be based on the approved institution's policies as applied to other
				students in similar circumstances.
(X) Scholarship assistance or award shall be
				an amount of money paid by Missouri to a qualified applicant pursuant to the
				provisions of this rule.
(Y)
				Service-related expenses shall be any allowable expenses related to room,
				board, travel, and personal costs of the applicant necessary to satisfactorily
				provide and complete a service to a nonprofit organization, or a state or
				federal government agency.
(Z)
				Student exchange program shall be any recognized international or national
				secondary-level exchange program recognized by the student's high school that
				is available to qualified students to continue their educational
				studies.
(AA) Sufficient
				documentation shall be documents including but not limited to letters of
				participation, application materials, copies of orders or release papers, or a
				statement of medical need provided by the student exchange program, the
				nonprofit organization, a state or federal government agency, any branch of the
				armed forces, or a practicing medical physician that verifies a student's
				status to the satisfaction of the MDHE.