South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 62 - STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION › Article VIII - HIGHER EDUCATION EXCELLENCE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM › LIFE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND LIFE SCHOLARSHIP ENHANCEMENT › Section 62-1200.65 - Institutional Disbursements: LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Eligible
				four-year public and independent institutions shall award LIFE Scholarship
				amounts, which cannot exceed the cost-of-tuition for thirty credit hours a
				year, not to exceed four thousand seven hundred dollars, plus a three hundred
				dollar book allowance (maximum $5,000 including cost-of-tuition plus book
				allowance) per academic year. Eligible two-year public or technical
				institutions shall award LIFE Scholarship amounts, which cannot exceed the
				cost-of-tuition for thirty credit hours plus a three hundred dollar book
				allowance (not to exceed a maximum award amount of $5,000 including
				cost-of-tuition plus book allowance) per academic year. For students enrolled
				at eligible two-year independent institutions, the award amount for a LIFE
				Scholarship shall not exceed the maximum cost-of-tuition at the two-year USC
				regional institutions plus a three hundred dollar book allowance (not to exceed
				a maximum award amount of $5,000 including cost-of-tuition plus book allowance)
				per academic year. Half of the LIFE Scholarship shall be awarded during the
				fall term and half during the spring term (or its equivalent), assuming
				continued eligibility. LIFE Scholarship funds cannot be disbursed during the
				summer or any interim sessions with the exception to disbursements that meet
				the requisites under the "Enrollment in Internships, Cooperative Work Programs,
				Travel Study Programs and National and International Student Exchange Programs"
				or "Military Mobilization" Sections. The LIFE Scholarship in combination with
				all other gift aid, including Federal, State, private and institutional funds,
				shall not exceed the cost-of-attendance as defined in Title IV regulations for
				any academic year.
B. Eligible
				four-year public and independent institutions only shall award LIFE Scholarship
				Enhancement amounts, which cannot exceed the cost-of-attendance for thirty
				credit hours a year, not to exceed $2,500 per academic year. The LIFE
				Scholarship Enhancement cannot be disbursed during the summer or any interim
				sessions with the exception of disbursements that meet the requisites under the
				"Enrollment in Internships, Cooperative Work Programs, Travel Study Programs
				and National and International Student Exchange Programs" or "Military
				Mobilization" Sections. The LIFE Scholarship Enhancement in combination with
				all other gift aid, including Federal, State, private and institutional funds,
				shall not exceed the cost-of-attendance as defined in Title IV Regulations for
				any academic year.
C. The LIFE
				Scholarship and the LIFE Scholarship Enhancement may not be applied to a second
				bachelor's degree or a graduate degree program as defined in the "Program
				Definitions" Section. In the event of early graduation, the LIFE Scholarship
				and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement awards are discontinued. Students are eligible
				to receive the LIFE Scholarship for a maximum of eight consecutive terms (or
				its equivalent) and a LIFE Scholarship Enhancement for a maximum of six
				consecutive terms (or its equivalent) towards an undergraduate degree, as long
				as all other eligibility requirements are met and the program is approved by
				the Commission on Higher Education. In such cases where students are enrolled
				in a program of study that is structured so as not to require a bachelor's
				degree for acceptance into the program and leads to a graduate degree, which
				will be the students' first academic degree awarded
,
such students
				must maintain their undergraduate status to be awarded the LIFE Scholarship and
				the LIFE Scholarship Enhancement, with the exception of students majoring in
				the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at South University, the Doctor of Pharmacy
				Program at South University, the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at Presbyterian
				College, the Master's of Science in Physician Assistant Studies Program at the
				Medical University of South Carolina, the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the
				University of South Carolina-Columbia and the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the
				Medical University of South Carolina. Students who have already been awarded
				their first bachelor's degree or graduate degree are not eligible to be awarded
				a LIFE Scholarship or a LIFE Scholarship Enhancement. Students enrolled in an
				approved five-year degree program may be eligible to receive a LIFE Scholarship
				for a fifth year of full-time, undergraduate work and a LIFE Scholarship
				Enhancement for a fourth year of full-time undergraduate coursework.
D. In determining the amount awarded for the
				LIFE Scholarship Enhancement, all other sources of gift aid, including federal,
				State, private and institutional funds and the base LIFE Scholarship, must be
				applied to the unmet total cost-of-attendance in accord with Title IV
				Regulations before calculating the LIFE Scholarship Enhancement amount and
				receiving the funds. Adjustments to the financial aid package will be made to
				the base LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement in accordance with
				prescribed Title IV Regulations in order to prevent an over award.
E. After the last day to register for each
				term of the academic year, the institution will verify enrollment of each
				recipient as a South Carolina resident who is a full-time, degree-seeking
				student. The institution must submit a request for LIFE Scholarship and LIFE
				Scholarship Enhancement funds and/or return of funds by the established
				deadline each term. In addition, a listing of all eligible recipients by
				identification numbers with award amounts for the term must be sent to the
				Commission on Higher Education. At this time any unused funds must be returned
				to the Commission on Higher Education immediately.
F. The Commission will disburse LIFE
				Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement awards to the eligible
				institutions to be placed in each eligible student's account.
G. The student must be enrolled at the time
				of disbursement of LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement funds as a
				full-time student at the home institution, and meet all requirements as
				established in the "Student Eligibility" Section for a LIFE Scholarship and the
				a LIFE Scholarship Enhancement. Students who are retroactively awarded must
				have been enrolled in a minimum of twelve credit hours (full-time) as a
				declared major in an eligible program under Section
				62-1200.10
				at the home institution at the time the LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship
				Enhancement would have been disbursed for that term.
H. The LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship
				Enhancement are to be annual awards. Half of the funds are to be disbursed in
				the fall term and half to be disbursed in the spring term. Students who change
				their major from an ineligible degree program to an eligible degree program
				during the same academic year shall not receive the LIFE Scholarship
				Enhancement until the beginning of the next academic year (i.e., fall term).
				Students who change their major from an eligible degree program to an
				ineligible degree program during the same academic year may continue to receive
				the LIFE Scholarship Enhancement during the current academic year; however, the
				student cannot be awarded the LIFE Scholarship Enhancement the next academic
				year of enrollment in an ineligible degree program.