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 62-1200.10 - Student Eligibility: LIFE Scholarship and LIFE Scholarship Enhancement

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. To be eligible
				for a LIFE Scholarship, students must:
1. Be
				a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident that meets the definition of an
				eligible non-citizen under State Residency Statutes at the time of high school
				graduation, whose lawful presence has been verified at the time of enrollment
				at the institution; and
2. Be
				classified by the awarding institution as a South Carolina resident for
				in-state purposes at the time of high school graduation and at the time of
				enrollment at the institution, as set forth by Section
				59-112-10,
				and be either a member of a class graduating from a high school located in this
				State, or a student who has successfully completed at least three of the final
				four years of high school within this State, or a home school student who has
				successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in the
				manner required by law, or a student graduating from a preparatory high school
				outside this State, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal
				resident of this State and has custody of the dependent according to State
				Statute, Section
				59-149-50A
				or a student whose parent or guardian has served in or has retired from one of
				the United States Armed Forces within the last four years, paid income taxes in
				this State for a majority of the years of service, and is a resident of this
				State. A student must be a legal permanent resident of the United States before
				being considered to be a South Carolina resident;
3. Meet two of the following three criteria
				if a first-time entering freshman at an eligible four-year institution:
(a) Earn a cumulative 3.0 grade point average
				(GPA) based on the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (UGP) upon high school
				graduation. No other grading policy will be allowed to qualify for the LIFE
				Scholarship. Final high school GPAs shall be based on the four-year period of
				high school attendance, with the exception of Carnegie Units earned prior to
				high school. There may be other exceptions, as deemed necessary by the
				Commission. Grade point averages must be reported to two decimal places
				(minimum) and may not be rounded. For example, a student who earns a 2.99 GPA
				is not eligible. Institutions shall use the final GPA as reported on the
				official transcript. The final official high school transcript must be dated in
				accordance with the Commission established date(s). If a South Carolina
				resident student is graduating from an out of state high school, it is the
				responsibility of the out of state student's school counselor to convert the
				student's final high school GPA and class ranking to an eligible final high
				school GPA based on the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy. The converted
				final high school GPA and class ranking (if applicable) must be provided to the
				eligible South Carolina Institution before a student can be awarded.
(b) Score at least an 1100 on the Scholastic
				Assessment Test (SAT) or an equivalent ACT score of 22. Test scores will be
				accepted through the CHE determined national test administration of the SAT and
				ACT during the year of high school graduation. The student must use the highest
				SAT Math score combined with the highest SAT Evidenced-based Reading score. It
				is permissible to select scores from different test administrations in order to
				obtain the qualifying composite score. For purposes of meeting the ACT test
				score requirement, the student can use the highest English, Math, Reading and
				Science scores. It is permissible to select scores from different test
				administrations in order to obtain the qualifying composite score.
(c) Rank in the top thirty percent of the
				graduating class in a high school with an approved, official rank policy,
				consisting of high school diploma candidates only. The rank must also be based
				on the UGP only. Students cannot be removed from the class because they did not
				meet the eligibility criteria, are not residents of the State, do not meet
				citizenship requirements, plan to attend college out-of-state, etc. The class
				rank information must include all students who attended your high school that
				school year. Ranking percentages must be reported to two decimal places
				(minimum) and may not be rounded. For example, a student who has a class rank
				of 13 of 43 (13/43 x 100 = 30.23%) will not rank in the top thirty percent of
				the class since 30.23% is not within thirty percent. To determine the top
				thirty percent for graduating classes with three or less students, the student
				who is ranked number one in the class would be considered in the top thirty
				percent for LIFE Scholarship eligibility. Only one student may occupy each
				place in class rank. Institutions shall use the final ranking as reported by
				the high school on the official transcript, and on a submitted rank report
				provided by the high school the student graduated from. A ranking report must
				be attached to the official transcript regardless of the graduating high
				school. High schools or home school associations that do not rank as a policy;
				or high schools whose grading policy deviates from the current SC Uniform
				Grading Policy and that do not convert the graduating class to the current SC
				UGP to determine class rank, must use the GPA and SAT or ACT criteria when
				attempting to meet the academic requirements for the LIFE Scholarship. High
				schools or home school associations shall not use ranking for the sole purpose
				of obtaining eligibility for the state scholarships. The rank policy and rank
				policy information must be available to parents, students, colleges, and
				universities, and the Commission on Higher Education in publication form to
				include a school's website, student/parent handbook, and/or school profile.
				This language must include the ranking policy in place at the
				school/association. The ranking policy should be consistent in all places where
				the rank policy is published and is the same information disseminated to
				parents, students, colleges/universities, and the Commission. The SC UGP GPA
				and class rank (if school/association officially ranks as a policy) must be
				printed on an official final end of year high school transcript, which must
				also include a uniform date of calculation as determined by the Commission on
				Higher Education. The graduation date must also be printed on the final end of
				senior year high school transcript, and include no grades earned after the date
				of the graduating high school class for the graduation year.
(d) For the purposes of meeting the rank
				criterion, the existing high school rank of a South Carolina resident attending
				an out-of-state high school may be used provided it is calculated pursuant to a
				state-approved, standardized grading scale at the respective out-of-state high
				school. If the eligible South Carolina institution determines that a
				state-approved standardized grading scale substantially deviates from the South
				Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (SC UGP), the institution must submit the
				grading scale to CHE for further review. If CHE confirms the out-of-state
				grading scale substantially deviates from the SC UGP, the state-approved,
				standardized grading scale shall not be used to meet the eligibility
				requirements for the LIFE Scholarship. All members of the student's Senior
				class at the out of state high school must be ranked in accordance with the
				South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy in these cases. When converting scores to
				the SC UGP, weighting must adhere to the SC UGP (i.e. honors no more than .50
				and AP/IB no more than 1.0). In addition, scores/grades must correspond to the
				SC UGP. For example, if a student earned a 90 in an honors class, the
				conversion of the score/grade must be equivalent to the points assigned
				according to the current SC UGP. The guidance counselor from the out-of-state
				preparatory school also has the option of converting the cumulative GPAs of all
				students in the applicant's class to the SC UGP to determine if the student
				ranks within the top thirty percent of the class. To be considered equivalent
				to the SC UGP, the out-of-state school's grading scale must adhere to the
				following minimum requirements:
(1) Must
				include all courses carrying Carnegie units, including units earned at the
				middle school and high school level;
(2) To be equivalent to an "A" letter grade,
				the numerical average must be >= 90; to be equivalent to a "B" letter grade
				the numerical average must be between 80 and 89 ; to be equivalent to a "C"
				letter grade the numerical average must be between 70 and 79 ; to be equivalent
				to a "D" letter grade the numerical average must be between 60 and 69 ; and to
				be equivalent to a "F" letter grade the numerical average must be between 50
				and 59 (if a course with a numerical average of < 62 is considered passing
				by the high school the student earned the grade, then a 73 numerical average
				should be given);
(3) Cannot add
				more than one half (.50) additional quality point for honors courses; cannot
				add more than one additional quality point for dual enrollment (DE) courses,
				Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and standard level International Baccalaureate
				(IB) courses; and, cannot add more than two additional quality points for
				higher level IB courses;
(4) Must
				classify all other courses as College Preparatory if they are not already
				classified as honors, DE, AP or IB. For a class to be classified as honors, the
				course must be in English, mathematics, science or social studies or be the
				third/fourth level for all other content areas; and,
(5) If no numerical average is available, all
				letter grades must be converted to the equivalent numerical average based on
				the following: all "A" letter grades must be converted to a 95 numerical
				average, all "B" letter grades must be converted to a 85 numerical average, all
				"C" letter grades must be converted to a 75 numerical average, all "D" letter
				grades must be converted to a 65 numerical average, and all "F" numerical
				averages must be converted a 50 numerical average.
4. Earn a cumulative 3.0 grade
				point average (GPA) on the Uniform Grading Policy upon high school graduation
				and score at least an 1100 on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) or an
				equivalent ACT score of 22 as determined by the Commission if a first-time
				entering freshman graduates from a non-ranking South Carolina high school,
				non-ranking South Carolina approved home school association or out-of-state
				preparatory high school and attends an eligible four-year
				institution;
5. Earn a cumulative
				3.0 grade point average (GPA) upon high school graduation on the Uniform
				Grading Policy if a first-time entering freshman at an eligible two-year or
				technical institution. No other grading policy will be allowed to qualify for
				the LIFE Scholarship. Grade point ratios must be reported to two decimal places
				(minimum) and may not be rounded. For example, a student who earns a 2.99 GPA
				is not eligible. Institutions shall use the final GPA as reported by the high
				school on the official transcript;
6. Be admitted, enrolled full-time, and
				classified as a degree-seeking student at a public or independent institution
				in South Carolina;
7. Certify that
				he/she has never been adjudicated delinquent, convicted, or pled guilty or
nolo contendere
to any felonies or any second or subsequent
				alcohol/drug related offenses under the laws of this or any other state or
				under the laws of the United States in order to be eligible for a LIFE
				Scholarship, except that a high school or college student otherwise qualified
				who has been adjudicated delinquent or has been convicted or pled guilty or
				nolo contendere to a second or subsequent alcohol or drug-related misdemeanor
				offense nevertheless shall be eligible or continue to be eligible for such
				scholarships after the expiration of one academic year from the date of the
				adjudication, conviction, or plea by submitting an affidavit each academic year
				to the institution. However, a high school or college student who has been
				adjudicated delinquent, convicted, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a
				second alcohol/drug related misdemeanor offense is ineligible for the next
				academic year of enrollment at an eligible institution after the date of the
				adjudication, conviction or plea. If the adjudication, conviction, or plea
				occurs during the academic year after the student has already submitted a
				signed affidavit to the institution, the student will be eligible to receive
				the Scholarship the remainder of the academic year. However, the student will
				be ineligible for the Scholarship the following entire academic year of
				enrollment. If a student completes a pretrial intervention program and has
				his/her record expunged the conviction will not affect Scholarship eligibility;
				and
8. Certify that he/she has not
				defaulted and does not owe a refund or repayment on any federal or state
				financial aid. If a student has an Institutional Student Information Record
				(ISIR) or its equivalent on file, the ISIR information will be used to verify
				default status or refund/repayment owed on any Federal or State financial aid.
				Students who have not completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid
				(FAFSA) must have an affidavit on file to verify that he/she is not in default
				and does not owe a refund or repayment on any Federal or State financial aid
				including, state grants/scholarships, Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental
				Educational Opportunity Grant, Perkins Loan and Federal Stafford
				Loan.