High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP)

1. High School Scholarship Programs(HSSP) April 2011

2. High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP) • State Scholar Program • ISAC Rules, Part 2760 • Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS) • ISAC Rules, Part 2761 • Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship (Byrd) • ISAC Rules, Part 2755

3. Selection Process • April – October: high school counselors submit students’ 6th semester data (traditional junior year) to ISAC to determine eligibility • ACT or SAT scores • Grade Point Average (GPA) • Class rank • November: State Scholars are announced • Spring: MRS and Byrd are announced

4. State Scholar Program • Recognition only; no monetary award • Have to attend an approved high school • Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and an Illinois resident • Must take an ACT, SAT or PSAE test between September 1st and June 30th of junior year in high school • Must rank in upper half of high school class at end of 6th semester • Graduate from high school in the year named an Illinois State Scholar

5. “Approved High School” • ISAC Rules, General Provisions, Part 2700 • Defined as: any public high school located in this State; and any high school, located in this State or elsewhere … which in the judgment of the State Superintendent of Education provides a course of instruction at the secondary level and maintains standards of instruction substantially the equivalent of those public high schools located in this State • Illinois State Board of Education • http://www.isbe.state.il.us/

6. State Scholar Numbers • For 2009-10 • Number of State Scholars: 19,331 • Mean High School Rank Percentile: 89.07 • Mean Test Score: 29.6 • For 2008-09 • Number of State Scholars: 18,178 • Mean High School Rank Percentile: 89.57 • Mean Test Score: 29.5 Source: 2009 ISAC Data Book, www.collegeillinois.org/rppa/data-book/2009-data-book

7. Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS) • Rewards academic achievement • Funds have not been appropriated since FY2005 • To be eligible, a student must: • be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen • be an Illinois resident • be due to graduate from an Illinois high school by end of the academic year that award is made • meet specific academic achievement criteria, including • GPA at or above 95th percentile of high school class • Rank in top 5% of all Illinois high school students who took the ACT, PSAE or SAT tests

8. Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS) • Program award • Student received $1,000 during freshman year of college • Must be used for educational expenses • Could be used for summer term • Student had to be enrolled at least half-time at an Illinois institution or one of the four U.S. Military Service Academies • Had to be claimed within one year after high school graduation • But no later than June 15 of the academic year following high school graduation

9. MRS Notification & Payment • When the program is funded: • ISAC sends announcement rosters to high schools in the Spring • ISAC sends award notifications and applications to final awardees in late Spring or early Summer • Application must be completed by student and postsecondary institution and returned to ISAC

10. Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program • Federally-funded program that rewards academic excellence • To be eligible, a student must: • be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen • be a resident of Illinois when initially awarded • be due to graduate from an Illinois high school by the end of the academic year that award is made • demonstrate outstanding academic achievement as measured by high school records • class rank, GPA and ACT, SAT or PSAE score

11. Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program • Program Award • Provides $1,500 per year • Renewable for up to four years • Can be used at most approved institutions of higher education in the United States

12. Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program • IL awards are distributed proportionately among all geographic regions in the state • Numbers specified in ISAC Rules • If a student does not accept the scholarship, the eligible applicant with the next highest score from the same geographic district is chosen to receive it • IL postsecondary institutions may also have Byrd recipients from other states • Each state has its own guidelines for awarding

13. Byrd Notification Process • Notices of Award are sent to new and renewal Byrd Scholars by May 1 • The notice also includes an Eligibility Certification Form that must be completed and returned to ISAC by July 15

14. Byrd Payment Process • Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Rosters are made available to colleges in My Zone in the fall • Claims must be submitted within 30 days after the rosters are made available • Once a roster has been submitted via My Zone, corrections and revisions cannot be made online • Change requests must be sent to School Services • Voucher information is available in My Zone after rosters are processed

15. Byrd Disbursement • Funds are sent to the school in one disbursement for the year • Schools must monitor each student's enrollment status for each term and return any amounts for terms not attended or for failure to meet program requirements.

16. Byrd Enrollment Exceptions • Postponement • New recipient may postpone enrollment for up to 12 months • Waiver of Full-Time Enrollment • Can receive after first year of undergraduate study for unusual circumstances • Allows student to enroll at least half-time and receive funds; award is prorated • Interruption • Can receive after first of study for up to 12 months for financial, medical or family reasons

17. HSSP Program News • 2011-12 State Scholars were announced on November 19, 2010 • Students’ names were posted to collegeillinois.org by county • Letters were sent to individual students • Certificates of Achievement were sent to high schools • Sample press release also provided • Lists and mailing labels were made available for ordering by postsecondary institutions at the end of January

18. HSSP Program News • At this time, it is anticipated that federal funding will not be appropriated for the 2011-12 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program • On April 15, President Obama signed into the law the 2011 fiscal year spending bill (also known as the Continuing Resolution) which eliminated funding for this program • Waiting on additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Education

19. HSSP Program News • Submitting 6th Semester Data for 2012-13 • Partnership with Xap Corp. to provide the Illinois Transcript Exchange (ILTE) service has expired • ILTE was the process by which high schools could submit 6th semester student transcript information to ISAC for HSSP, and it was also the process by which high schools could send transcripts electronically to participating colleges in Illinois • As of December 5, 2010 high schools will no longer be able to send HSSP data or transcripts through the ILTE • ISAC is working to establish a relationship with a new vendor, but it won’t be in place for the 2012-13 roster processing cycle

20. HSSP Program News • Submitting 6th Semester Data for 2012-13 • Options include: • School-generated rosters • Must include the student name, date of birth and unweighted GPAs for any student who has an Illinois Standard Test Score of 31 or greater • Must also include one of the following: • Class rank for the top 50% of students or • Cumulative unweighted GPA for those students in the top 50% of the class • ISAC-generated roster • Will be sent to schools in the fall • Electronic process • Password-protected Excel files

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