MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Policy and Procedures Manual
SUBJECT: STUDENT AFFAIRS
Policy 501.1 – Montana University System; Honor Scholarships
Effective March 6, 2008; Issued April 16, 2008
Please note that effective March 1, 2007, this policy applies for students graduating in the 2007-2008 academic year. For students who graduate prior to the 2007-08 academic year, click here for the applicable policy.
The policy as revised at the March 2008 meeting becomes effective for students entering the MUS in fall of 2008.
A. Board Policy:
1. The Board of Regents of Higher Education will award up to two hundred (200) Montana University System Honor Scholarships annually to Montana high school graduates in accordance with the terms of this policy.
2. Recipients will be selected based upon class ranking as determined by the student’s grade point average (GPA) at the student’s respective high school and ACT or SAT test score (the higher of the two if both tests are taken). If the SAT test is taken, it will be converted to a corresponding ACT score. A composite scholarship score will be determined by assigning a value to class rank and adding that value to the student’s ACT/SAT score, with the highest score being offered the first Montana University Honor Scholarship and continuing until the target number of students has accepted the scholarship.
Class rank value will be determined as follows: A student ranked first in grade point average at his or her high school (and all ties for first) will receive the maximum of 30 points for class ranking. A student ranked second in grade point average at his or her high school (and all ties for second) will receive 29 points for class ranking. Points earned for class rank will continue to be assigned in descending order until either (a) all students with a minimum GPA of 3.400 are ranked or (2) the students ranked 30th are ranked, whichever occurs first. A student must have at least a 3.400 GPA to be ranked. High Schools which use weighted grade point averages to determine class ranking must use weighted averages for every student for which that weighting applies.
3. Prospective recipients must graduate from a Montana high school accredited by the Montana state Board of Public Education and have been enrolled full time and in attendance in a Montana accredited high school for at least three years prior to graduation. In addition, prospective recipients must be US citizens, have a minimum grade point average of 3.400, and meet the Board of Regents’ rigorous core policy requirements described in 301.15 Appendix I (high school students graduating from high school before 2010 are required to meet Board of Regent college preparatory requirements as described in 301.7). The high school principal, or designee, must certify to the Commissioner of Higher Education that the prospective recipients have met or will meet these requirements. Students have until the date of high school graduation to meet the Montana University System rigorous core or college preparatory requirements
4. The only exception to § A-3 is that the following students are eligible to apply for an MUS Honor Scholarship: students who have not attended an accredited Montana high school solely because they reside with a parent who resides outside of Montana due to service in active duty in a branch of the armed forces. Eligibility shall be based on the following: (1) such students must attend accredited high schools which award grades competitively for at least 3 of their 4 high school years; (2) such students must attend accredited Montana high schools during their senior years and their grades must be computed on those high schools’ grading systems; and (3) to be eligible, parents in active military service must have been residents of Montana for at least 3 of the 4 years of their sons’ or daughters’ high school years, including the senior year, and must support their students. The determination of residency will be based on the terms of BOR Policy 940.1, and the burden of proving resident status is on the parent. For purposes of this policy, membership in ROTC, in the reserves or in the National Guard, does not, in itself, qualify as active duty. Active duty military status cannot be achieved by attending school.
5. The scholarships may be utilized at any campus of the Montana University System or Dawson, Flathead Valley, or Miles Community Colleges (hereinafter referred to as eligible campuses) as a waiver of tuition at the home campus, provided the provisions of A.5.are met.
6. The honor scholarship is renewable annually provided the student maintains a 3.400 GPA at the home campus at the end of each academic year and demonstrates progress toward a degree by completing at least 30 credit hours after two semesters, 60 credit hours after four semesters, and 90 credit hours after six semesters. If the student is not able to obtain the credits or GPA required for progress toward a degree due to circumstances beyond his/her control, the student may appeal to the financial aid office at the home campus.
7. The scholarship may be received a maximum of 8 continuous academic (fall/spring) undergraduate semesters and is transferable between eligible campuses. Summer semester does not count as one of the 8 continuous semesters. Summer tuition may be waived for an eligible recipient at the discretion of the campus.
8. To waive tuition and/or receive credit for classes taken on-line at MUS qualifying campuses other than the home campus, recipients must first contact and make the appropriate arrangements with the home campus.
9. Students lose eligibility by non-enrollment, lower than 3.400 GPA at the end of academic year, or violating the student conduct code.
10. For purposes of this policy, the home campus is the campus at which a student originally matriculates until such time as the student formally transfers to another eligible campus.
B. Procedures:
1. Eligible high school students must apply for the scholarship. Before the student can submit an application, the student must apply to and be accepted by one of the eligible campuses. The student must then complete a scholarship application and submit it to the high school principal (or designee), along with a copy of the acceptance letter from the eligible campus. The completed scholarship application must be submitted by February 15th of the award year. Any eligible student who does not submit the required scholarship application and acceptance letter by the application deadline will be deemed to have relinquished the scholarship.
2. Each eligible Montana high school shall provide a class ranking list of eligible students that includes the students’ grade point averages to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education not later than March 15th of the award year.
3. GPA will be calculated through the 7th high school semester (5th semester, for students graduating early).
4. If there is a tie for the final scholarship, the tie will be broken by awarding the student with the highest ACT score.
5. If the recipient of a Montana University System Honor Scholarship decides not to attend an eligible campus, the student should relinquish the scholarship at once. In such cases where the scholarship is relinquished prior to May 15th of the award year, the Montana University System may award the next eligible student.
6. A recipient must utilize the scholarship within 9 months after high school graduation.
History: Item 5-006-R0774, Policy regarding Fee Waivers, Montana University System, amended June 7, 1976 (rescinded); Item 18-006-R1077, Honor Scholarships, Montana University System, October 28, 1977, December 15, 1989, November 20, 1997, May 21, 1998, and November 18, 1999 (Item 104-103-R0999) and January 18, 2002 (ITEM 114-102-R0102) - Revised Policy , (Item 114-101-R0302), March 20, 2003 (Item discussion, Item 118-103-R0303), and March 25, 2004 (ITEM 122-101-R0304; Memo). (Item 134-107-R0307) revised policy regarding fee waiver February 28, 2007. ITEM 138-112-R0308 (Supporting Material) approved March 6, 2008 to include criteria for class rank value.