Missouri State Promise Scholarship Policy Statement

Eligibility requirements

The Missouri State Promise Scholarship will be awarded to entering students who:

• Are Missouri residents in accordance with the residence policy (www.missouristate.edu/admissions/residency.htm).
• Are admitted as either first-time freshmen or transfer students after completion of an associate degree from a regionally-accredited Missouri community college or associate-degree granting college (including Missouri State University-West Plains).  The undergraduate admission policy is available at www.missouristate.edu/admissions/admpolicy.htm.
• Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA; www.fafsa.ed.gov) by June 30 (for students entering in the summer or fall semesters) or October 31 (for students entering in the spring).  No special application for this program is required; instead, qualified students will be identified based on their FAFSA.
• Apply for admission by June 1 (for students entering in summer or fall) or by October 1 (for students entering in the spring).
• Enroll as a full-time student (12 or more credit hours per semester in the fall and spring semesters).
• Have a total household income (taxed and untaxed combined, but excluding the student income for dependent students), as reported on the FAFSA and verified by supporting documentation that is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level as determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) and who are Pell grant eligible.

Who establishes federal poverty guidelines?

Poverty guidelines are established annually by the USDHHS. The following table shows federal poverty levels for 2011 that will be used to determine eligibility for the 2011-2012 academic year.  For the Missouri Promise income guidelines, multiply the income for each family size below by 150%.  Eligibility for future years will be determined by poverty levels established for those years.

For details on the federal poverty level, visit aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml.

Qualified students will be notified of their eligibility with their financial aid award letter.

Determination of value

The value is determined individually for students based on their enrollment and other types of gift aid they receive.  The following is an example, based on 2011-2012 fees for a student taking 30 credit hours per year.

The scholarship will be disbursed by semester.  In the example above, the student would receive approximately $1,163 each semester.  The final value of the scholarship will be based on the student's fee assessment at the close of the official change of schedule period (end of the first week of classes each semester).

The Missouri State Promise Scholarship does not provide funding for summer session enrollment; however, students who enroll for the first time during the summer 2011 semester will be eligible to receive the scholarship beginning with the fall 2011 semester.

Renewal requirements

The Missouri State Promise Scholarship is renewable for students who:

• File the FAFSA each year by the June 30 deadline.
• Continue to meet household income requirements based on current year poverty levels.
• Continue to enroll as full-time students.
• Complete 24 credit hours in the academic year with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher.  (While the scholarship does not cover summer session enrollment, students may use hours earned during the summer to meet the credit hour and grade point average requirement.)

Entering freshmen may renew for three years beyond the freshman year (i.e., receive the award for four years total).  Entering transfers may renew for one year (i.e., two years total).