(1) General eligibility criteria for awards. To receive aid, a student must meet the provisions of Sections 1009.40 and 1009.73, F.S. and Rules 6A-20.001, 6A-20.003 and 6A-20.0371, F.A.C., and:
    (a) Be enrolled as a degree-seeking undergraduate student at either Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Bethune-Cookman University, Edward Waters College, or Florida Memorial University.
    (b) Have been a bona fide Florida resident, pursuant to Florida Statutes § 1009.21 and Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-20.003, for twelve (12) months prior to the first day of class of the fall term of the academic year for which funds are being requested.
    (c) Be enrolled for a minimum of twelve (12) credits at the end of the regular registration period, inclusive of the drop-add period, for each academic term in which aid is received.
    (d) Not owe a repayment of a federal Title IV grant, or any state grant or scholarship program unless satisfactory arrangements to repay have been made.
    (e) Not be in default on any state or federal student loan program, unless satisfactory arrangements to repay the loan have been made.
    (2) Eligibility for initial awards.
    (a) The application procedure shall be established and communicated to students by each participating institution.
    (b) To be eligible for an initial award, a student must have earned a minimum, unweighted, cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent, for high school subjects creditable towards a diploma.
    (3) Eligibility for renewal awards. An applicant who receives the scholarship in one year will be considered for renewal the following year. All applicants for renewal of scholarships will be considered for awards in accordance with the following academic progress standards and the rating system established under subsection (8) of this rule. To be eligible for renewal of the scholarship, a student shall have met the following conditions of academic progress at the end of the second semester or third quarter of each academic year:
    (a) Have earned a minimum institutional cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
    (b) Have earned a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours each term for the number of terms for which the award was received; and,
    (c) Have filed a renewal application, if required by the institution.
    (4) Reinstatement awards. A reinstatement applicant is a student who received the scholarship during one academic year and met the academic progress requirements for renewal of the scholarship, but did not receive the scholarship in the following year. To be eligible for reinstatement a student must:
    (a) File an application for reinstatement within the deadlines established by the institution, if required by the institution;
    (b) Apply for reinstatement within three (3) years of filing an initial application;
    (c) Have maintained, at the end of the second semester or third quarter of each academic year, a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all college work attempted.
    (d) Applicants for reinstatement will be considered for awards in accordance with the rating system established under subsection (8) of this rule.
    (5) Appeals. An applicant may appeal decisions of ineligibility made due to failure to meet academic progress requirements or errors made in determining student eligibility pursuant to Florida Statutes § 1009.42, respectively.
    (6) Amount of award. The full amount of the Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarship is three thousand (3,000) dollars annually. However, this institution may prorate its scholarship allocation equally among all eligible initial, renewal and reinstatement students as allowed under paragraph (8)(c) of this rule.
    (7) Period of award. Awards are made annually for the first and second semesters of an academic year.
    (8) Award procedures. The institution shall rank students prior to the beginning of the fall term each year based on the following rating system:
    (a) The institution shall first determine that the applicant meets the general eligibility criteria pursuant to subsection (1) of this rule, and either the initial, renewal or reinstatement eligibility criteria, pursuant to subsections (2), (3) and (4), respectively, of this rule.
    (b) The institution shall then rank all eligible applicants on the basis of financial need using the institution’s financial need policy pursuant to paragraph (16)(a) of this rule. Students having the greatest financial need shall receive the highest rank. In the event that there are more eligible applicants with financial need than there are scholarships available, the institution shall further rank such applicants on the basis of those having the highest grade point averages.
    (c) Based on the number of awards allocated to the institution by the Department, the institution shall make full awards to eligible applicants who have the highest rank based on their financial need and grade point averages. The institution may, however, elect to provide partial scholarships to all applicants who meet the minimum eligibility criteria for an award by prorating the institution’s full scholarship allocation equally among all eligible initial, renewal and reinstatement applicants, without regard to ranking by financial need or grade point averages.
    (d) The institution shall notify each applicant in writing of the status of the student’s application. The institution shall also notify each student in writing who receives a scholarship of the award amount.
    (9) Number of awards to be allocated to each institution. The Department will notify each institution annually of the total number of scholarships made available through the General Appropriations Act. Each institution shall notify the Department, no later than June 1 annually, of the maximum number of scholarships for which the institution pledges matching contributions. In the event that the total number of scholarships pledged by all institutions exceeds the number of scholarships appropriated, the Department shall allocate scholarships on the basis of the institution’s request, or on the basis of each institution’s proportionate number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students to the FTE of all institutions, whichever is less. FTE is the total number of semester hours attempted by Florida residents enrolled at the eligible institution during the fall term divided by fifteen (15) credit hours. The Department will send to each institution a final allocation notice no later than July 1 of each year which describes the number of scholarships allocated to the institution for the academic year and the amount of matching contribution in increments of one thousand (1,000) dollars that must be paid by each institution.
    (10) Maximum terms of eligibility. A student is eligible to receive the award for eight (8) semesters or twelve (12) quarters over a period of six (6) consecutive years, or until the student receives a baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first. A student may receive the award for up to ten (10) semesters or fifteen (15) quarters when: the student has enrolled in college preparatory course work required by the institution; the student needs additional terms of eligibility to meet the requirements of the College Level Academic Skills Testing (CLAST) Program; or the student is enrolled in a five (5) year undergraduate degree program. Five (5) year eligibility does not apply to a program of study which leads to the simultaneous award of a graduate and an undergraduate degree. Additional terms of eligibility for five (5) year programs will be allowed based on the number of credit hours required by the institution for completion of the program of study as follows:
Semester Hours Required
Terms of Eligibility
132-143
9
144 or more
10
Quarter Hours Required
Terms of Eligibility
192-203
13
204-215
14
215 or more
15
    (11) Matching contributions. Each institution shall submit to the Department the total matching contribution for its scholarship allocation no later than August 1 prior to the academic year for which funds are being matched.
    (12) Other contributions. The Department shall deposit in the trust fund any moneys contributed by private sources for use toward Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarships. Contributions received by May 31 of each year shall be used to meet the cost of institution matching contributions for the following academic year. The Department shall allocate any such monies for use by all institutions or earmark the contribution for use by a specific institution, in accordance with the request of the private source contributor.
    (13) Disbursement procedures. The Department shall disburse scholarship funds to the institution on a term-by-term basis. The Department shall disburse an amount each term equal to one-half (1/2) of the annual scholarship amount for semester institutions multiplied by the total number of scholarships allocated to the institution. The institution shall disburse the funds to eligible students each term upon confirming each student’s continued eligibility at the end of the regular registration period each term, inclusive of the drop-add period. Notwithstanding the provisions of Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-20.002(1)(k), the institution shall remit, no later than April 1 of each year, full refunds for any term awards not disbursed during the academic year and full refunds for any disbursements made in error to ineligible students. Refunds for disbursements made to eligible recipients who withdraw during a term shall be submitted to the Department within sixty (60) days of the date that the student’s enrollment terminated. Such refunds will be in amounts consistent with the percentage of refund as defined by the institution’s refund policy.
    (14) Transfer of awards during the academic year. A student may request a transfer of the award from one (1) eligible institution to another during an academic year. To be eligible for transfer during the academic year, the student must notify the Department in writing no later than November 15 of the student’s transfer to another eligible institution. The Department will transfer the student’s term award, including matching contribution, to the new institution. A student who changes from one eligible institution to another eligible institution between academic years must comply with the renewal application procedures and deadlines established by the institution the student plans to attend.
    (15) Annual report. Each institution shall file an annual report due to the Department no later than April 1 of each academic year. The annual report shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
    (a) A list which includes the social security number, last name, first name, race, sex, and disbursement amount by term for each student, a summary count of the total number of students and total amount of disbursements by term, and a certification that each student listed met all of the eligibility criteria as described in Florida Statutes § 1009.73, and this rule.
    (b) A reconciliation of funds received and utilized during the academic year including: the total number of scholarship allocations received from the Department; the amount of funds received by the institution each term; the total number of students who received disbursements each term; the amount of dollars disbursed to students each term; and any refunds paid to the Department as described under subsection (13) of this rule.
    (c) The institution’s method for determining a student’s financial need pursuant to paragraph (16)(a) of this rule.
    (16) Other institutional responsibilities.
    (a) The institution shall develop a written policy which describes the institution’s method of determining the financial need of students who apply for Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarships. The institution shall use this policy consistently in the ranking of all eligible initial, renewal and reinstatement applicants for scholarships as described in paragraph (8)(b) of this rule.
    (b) All institutions shall comply with all administrative responsibilities described in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-20.002, including the provisions of any reports of demographic or directory information on awarded students as needed by the Department. Bethune-Cookman University, Edward Waters College and Florida Memorial University shall comply with Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-20.0021
Rulemaking Authority Florida Statutes § 1001.02(1), 1009.73(10) FS. Law Implemented Florida Statutes § 1009.73. History-New 10-18-94, Amended 10-15-02.