Bill Text: MS SB2041 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: MS Eminent Scholars Grant Program; add eligibility requirements for students who earn college credits at out-of-state schools.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [SB2041 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-SB2041-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges
By: Senator(s) Polk
Senate Bill 2041
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI EMINENT SCHOLARS GRANT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WHO EARN POSTSECONDARY CREDITS AT AN OUT-OF-STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO REQUIRE THOSE STUDENTS TO MAINTAIN A 3.5 GPA ON ALL CREDIT HOURS EARNED AT THE OUT-OF-STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO REQUIRE THOSE STUDENTS TO EARN NO MORE THAN 30 CREDIT HOURS AT THE OUT-OF-STATE INSTITUTION TO MAINTAIN THEIR ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-106-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-106-31. (1) There is
created a Mississippi Eminent Scholars * * * Grant Program, to be administered
by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board
established under Section 37-106-9. The board shall set the dates that
will serve as the deadlines for applying for an award under this section
and award scholarships to each Mississippi student who:
(a) (i) Is recognized by the merit or achievement programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation or the National Achievement Scholarship as a semifinalist or finalist, and has obtained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale in high-school subjects acceptable for credit toward a diploma, after seven (7) semesters certified by the high-school counselor or other authorized school official on the application and graduation from high school verified by the institution before disbursement of award; or
(ii) Has scored twenty-nine (29) on the American College Testing Program or its equivalent and has obtained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale after seven (7) semesters certified by the high-school counselor or other authorized school official on the application and graduation from high school verified by the institution before disbursement of award, or the equivalent in high-school subjects acceptable for credit toward a diploma; or
(iii) Has
attended a home education program during grade levels 9 through 12 and has
scored twenty-nine (29) on the American College Testing Program or its
equivalent. * * *
* * *
(b) Meets the general requirements for student eligibility, except as otherwise provided in this section.
* * *
( * * *c) Files, before the deadline, an
application for an award during his last year in high school, or before the
expiration of the third school year succeeding the year of his high-school
graduation.
( * * *d) Attends, on a full-time basis, any
state institution of higher learning or public community or junior college, or
any regionally accredited, state-approved, nonprofit * * * two-year or four-year
college or university located in the State of Mississippi * * *
approved by the board.
( * * *e) Enrolls for the first time as a
college student in Mississippi. Any student who earns postsecondary academic
credit prior to or during the summer immediately subsequent to receiving a high-school
diploma, who is dually enrolled in secondary and postsecondary educational
institutions, or who is enrolled in the early admission program of a
postsecondary institution shall be exempt from this requirement. Any student
who earns postsecondary academic credit at an institution of higher learning
located outside the state shall meet the requirements on grade point average
and maximum credit hours set forth in subsection (2)(b) of this section.
( * * *f) Is a resident of the State of
Mississippi. * * *
(2) (a) Except for students who earn credits at institutions of higher learning located outside the state, students who apply for awards but do not accept their initial awards may reapply to receive awards during subsequent application periods occurring before the expiration of the third school year succeeding the year of their high-school graduation. Similarly, students who receive initial awards and who later do not accept renewal awards may reapply to receive awards during subsequent application periods occurring before the expiration of the third school year succeeding the year of their high-school graduation.
(b) Students who earn credits at institutions of higher learning located outside the state and who either (i) apply for awards but do not accept their initial awards, or (ii) receive initial awards but later do not accept renewal awards may reapply to receive awards during subsequent application periods occurring before the expiration of the third school year succeeding the year of their high-school graduation and before completing no more than thirty (30) credit hours at the out-of-state institution.
(c) * * * Reinstatement
applications will be accepted according to dates set by the Mississippi
Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board and shall determine the
eligibility of such applicants in the same manner as first-time applicants,
except that students who apply pursuant to this * * * subsection shall be required
to have maintained the equivalent of a 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a
4.0 scale for all college work attempted. The board shall not make awards to
reinstatement applicants who submit applications that are received after the
deadline set by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance
Board.
( * * *d) The board shall create a renewal
application for each student who received the award for one or more terms
during the immediately preceding academic year.
(3) (a) The annual award to a student shall be up to Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for tuition and fees. Payment of the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant shall be made payable to the recipient and the educational institution and mailed directly to the institution, to be applied first to tuition.
(b) Within six (6) weeks of the end of regular registration, inclusive of a drop-add period, institutions shall certify to the board the eligibility status of each awarded student. The eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement shall be determined by each institution as of this date. Institutions shall not be required to reevaluate a student's eligibility status after this date for purposes of amending eligibility determinations previously made. However, an institution shall be requested to make refunds for students who receive award disbursements and terminate enrollment for any reason during the academic term when an institution's refund policies permit a student to receive a refund under the circumstances.
(c) Institutions shall certify to the board the amount of funds disbursed to each student and shall remit to the board any undisbursed advances within sixty (60) days of the end of regular registration.
(4) A recipient shall
maintain the equivalent of a 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale,
or shall maintain an approved equivalent student progress evaluation plan, on
at least twelve (12) hours per quarter, trimester or semester in order to be
eligible for a continuation of the award. No student may receive a Mississippi
Eminent Scholars * * * Grant for more than the equivalent semesters or
quarters required to complete one (1) degree or certificate program per
institution. The award may be renewed annually upon certification of
eligibility by the eligible institutions that the recipient meets the necessary
qualifications. If any recipient transfers from one university, community
college or junior college to another, his award will be transferable, provided
he is otherwise eligible for the award. If a student fails to maintain
continuous enrollment, and is not granted an exception for cause by the
administering agency, the student is ineligible to receive the Mississippi
Eminent Scholars Grant during the following semester or trimester or term of
the regular academic year.
(5) The board may conduct its own annual audits of any institution participating in the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant Program. The board may suspend or revoke an institution's eligibility to receive future monies under the program if it finds that the institution has not complied with the provisions of this section.
(6) For purposes of this
section, certificated shall mean, but not be limited to, all
postsecondary vocational programs in eligible institutions * * *
approved by the board.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.
