S.C. Code Regs. § § 62-900.95

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024

Section 62-900.95 - Student Eligibility

A. To be eligible for a SC HOPE Scholarship, the student must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident that meets the definition of an eligible non-citizen under State residency statutes at the time of high school graduation, whose lawful presence in the US has been verified at the time of enrollment at the institution;

2. Be classified by the awarding institution as a South Carolina resident for in-state purposes at the time of high school graduation and at the time of enrollment at the institution, as set forth by Section 59-112-10 and be either a member of a class graduating from a high school located in this State, a home school student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in the manner required by law, or a student graduating from a preparatory high school outside this State, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal resident of this State and has custody of the dependent according to State Statute, Section 59-149-50A. A student must be a legal permanent resident of the United States before being considered to be a South Carolina resident;

3. Earn a cumulative 3.0 grade point average (GPA) based on the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (UGP) upon high school graduation. No other grading policy will be allowed to qualify for the SC HOPE Scholarship. Grade point averages must be reported to two decimal places (minimum) and may not be rounded. For example, a student who earns a 2.99 GPA is not eligible. A student who earns a 3.00 GPA or above is eligible. Institutions shall use the final cumulative GPA as reported by the high school on the official high school transcript. The SC UGP GPA and class rank (if school/association officially ranks as a policy) must be printed on an official final end of year high school transcript, which must also include a uniform date of calculation as determined by the Commission on Higher Education. The graduation date must also be printed on the final end of senior year high school transcript, and no grades earned after the date of the graduating high school class for the graduation year. If a South Carolina resident student is graduating from an out of state high school, it is the responsibility of the out of state student's school counselor to convert the students final high school GPA and class ranking to an eligible final high school GPA based on the S.C. Uniform Grading Policy. The converted final high school GPA and class ranking (if applicable) must be provided to the eligible S.C. Institution before a student can be awarded. A student who graduates high school with a General Educational Development (GED) Diploma is not eligible to receive the SC HOPE Scholarship;

4. Be admitted, enrolled full-time, and classified as a degree-seeking undergraduate student in an eligible institution in South Carolina;

5. Certify that he/she has never been adjudicated delinquent, convicted, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any felonies and/or any second or subsequent alcohol/drug related misdemeanor offenses under the laws of this or any other state or under the laws of the United States by submitting a signed affidavit each academic year to the institution testifying to the fact. However, a high school or college student who has been adjudicated delinquent, convicted, or pled guilty or nolo contendere of a second alcohol or other drug related misdemeanor offense is ineligible for the next academic year of enrollment at an eligible institution after the date of the adjudication, conviction or plea. If the adjudication, conviction, or plea occurs during the academic year after the student has already submitted a signed affidavit to the institution, the student is still eligible for the Scholarship for the remainder of the academic year. However, the student will not be eligible to receive the LIFE Scholarship the following fall, spring, and summer terms (or their equivalent), even if all other eligibility requirements have been met. If a student completes a pretrial intervention program and has his/her record expunged, the conviction will not affect Scholarship eligibility;

6. For a home school graduate to be eligible for the SC HOPE Scholarship, the student must be a member of an approved South Carolina homeschool program as defined in the State Statute (Sections 59-65-40, 45, and 47) that provides a GPA on an official transcript upon high school graduation based on the Uniform Grading Policy. No other grading policy will be allowed to qualify for the SC HOPE Scholarship. Grade point averages must be reported to two decimal places (minimum) and may not be rounded; and

7. In order to meet the GPA requirement, a student who attended an out-of-state preparatory high school or graduated from a SC high school prior to the full implementation of the Uniform Grading Policy must have their grades converted to the SC UGP. This conversion is the responsibility of the out of state preparatory high school or SC high school. These students must meet all other eligibility criteria, including SC residency requirements.

B. Any credit hours attempted or earned before high school graduation, hours exempted by examination, International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) credit hours do not count against the terms of eligibility.

C. Students who complete their high school graduation requirements prior to the official graduation date reported on the final high school transcript may be eligible to receive the SC HOPE Scholarship pending the approval of the Commission on Higher Education (CHE). The institutional representative must complete and submit an Early Graduation Application Form and all appropriate documentation as deemed necessary by CHE for each student by the established deadline. The student must request and submit a letter from the high school principal verifying that he/she has met all graduation requirements along with an official high school transcript.

D. Service members of the United States Armed Forces will not be penalized for any credit hours earned while on active duty. The credit hours earned will not count against the terms of eligibility.

E. Early graduates who enroll mid-year and are classified as degree-seeking will officially begin their initial college enrollment.

F. SC HOPE Scholarship funds may not be applied to the costs of continuing education or remedial/developmental courses. Twelve credit hours of the course load must be nonremedial/developmental and non-continuing education courses in order to receive SC HOPE Scholarship funds.

G. Students receiving a SC HOPE Scholarship are not eligible for a LIFE Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship or Lottery Tuition Assistance.

H. Students who meet all eligibility requirements for the SC HOPE Scholarship are eligible to receive Scholarship funds for the freshman year of attendance only.

I. All documents required for determining SC HOPE Scholarship eligibility must be submitted to the institution by their established deadline(s). Students must submit official transcripts from all previous and current institutions, which provide evidence to determine initial college enrollment.

J. All eligible independent and public institutions that participate in the program must verify the lawful presence of any student who receives a SC HOPE Scholarship prior to awarding the Scholarship to the student. When verifying the lawful presence of an individual, institutional personnel shall not attempt to independently verify the immigration status of any alien, but shall verify any alien's immigration status with the federal government pursuant to 8 USC Section 1373(c).

S.C. Code Regs. § 62-900.95

Added by State Register Volume 27, Issue No. 6, Part 2, eff June 27, 2003. Amended by State Register Volume 29, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 2005; State Register Volume 30, Issue No. 4, eff April 28, 2006, State Register Volume 32, Issue No. 6, eff June 27, 2008; State Register Volume 35, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 2011; State Register Volume 45, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/28/2021.