What do new awardees need to better understand the SD Opportunity Scholarship?

Congratulations on being awarded the Dakota Corps Scholarship

Please read through this entire document to find out more information about the scholarship requirements and the funding amounts. 

Amount of Scholarship

NOTE:  Students that entered the program prior to July 1, 2023 and are already receiving the scholarship will remain under the previous $6,500 funding structure.

Continued Eligibility

Once a student has been awarded, they will not need to complete another application.  However, students must meet the continued eligibility requirements each semester.  They include the following:

• Recipients must maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

• Recipients must attempt and complete enough earned credit hours of instruction to meet the credit hour threshold for the forthcoming year (30 credit hours for the 3rd and 4th term funding, 60 credit hours for 5th and 6th term funding, and 90 credit hours for 7th and 8th term funding). Recipients failing to attempt or meet their respective credit hour benchmark in a given year become permanently ineligible in the scholarship program.

• Any recipient who loses eligibility because the student's cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 may reestablish eligibility by raising the cumulative grade point average to 3.0 or greater.

• Each semester the 17 South Dakota institutions monitor recipient continuing eligibility in the Opportunity Scholarship program and upload recipient data into a database maintained by the Board of Regents.

These data are carefully monitored at both the institutional and system level to ensure that all students have met the continuing eligibility requirements specified in legislative statute that governs the scholarship program. For instance, campus personnel review credit hours attempted at the start of each semester and notify those students who are at risk of not meeting their respective credit hour threshold for the forthcoming year. Those students who fail to complete enough credit hours are not included in an institution's term funding request, and subsequently become permanently ineligible for further funding. As a function of South Dakota Codified Law, Administrative Rules have been developed to manage recipient continued eligibility across four areas including instances when a:

1. Recipient failed to meet the credit hour threshold requirement.

2. Recipient is no longer actively enrolled in the program resulting from persistence issues (stop-out without executive director exemption), transfer outside the state, and withdrawal from an institution in South Dakota.

3. Recipient fell below the 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Courses Graded S/U Only

In the past, institutions were required to obtain an exemption from courses that awarded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) or Pass/Fail grades. Under the new statute, any credit hours with an assigned grade (excludes "W" or "I") can be counted as earned credit.

Treatment of Special Enrollments

The Administrative Rules for the Opportunity Scholarship program also outline the impact that special enrollments have on a recipient's continuing eligibility. The following conditions for purpose of eligibility apply to special enrollments:

1. Summer and Interim Sessions.

2. Repeated Courses.

3. Internships and Similar External Placement.

Requesting an Exemption

State statue grants the Executive Director of the Board of Regents the authority to grant exemptions to continuous enrollment requirements when good cause is shown. As a result, when a situation arises that hinders a student from meeting the eligibility requirements for the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship, he/she has the opportunity to request an exemption waiver from the Executive Director. 

The administrative rules that govern the Opportunity Scholarship program provides authority to the Board of Regents to grant waivers to a limited number of continuous eligibility criteria including the Credit Hour Thresholds and Persistence Requirements.   As a result, when a situation arises that hinders a student from meeting the continuing eligibility requirements for the program, he/she has the opportunity to request an exemption waiver from the Executive Director.  To this date, waivers have been granted based on five specific rationales including:

1. Situations where a medical hardship has hindered a student's progress;

2. Student participation in an approved exchange program through their institution;

3. Conflict with program of study requirements that influence student credit hours;

4. Participation in an institution approved internship or cooperative education program; and/or,

5. Military deferral for National Guard or military service.

While waivers are routinely granted for the issues outline above, the Legislature has not granted a Participating Institution or the Board of Regents with the authority to grant waivers for other requirements established in the state statute or administrative rules.  These include:

1. Failure to meet all of the initial eligibility requirements (13-55-31 & 13-55-31.1);

• Be a resident of South Dakota at the time of graduation from high school;

• Have a composite score of 24 or higher on the ACT;

• Meet the high school course requirements for graduation, with a cumulative average grade of “B” (3.0  on a 4.0 scale), and a C or higher in all required courses;

• Attend a participating post-secondary institution within South Dakota;

• Enter into the program within five years of graduation

2. Failure to meet the established application deadlines (24:40:13:12, 24:40:13:14);

3. Failure to meet the 3.0 GPA requirements for continuous eligibility criteria (13-55-34); and/or

4. Early payment of scholarship awards outside the requirements set forth in 13-55-33 or 24:40:13:20.

To request an exemption, please complete the Exemption Request (South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship) form. 

For more information, select VIEW ALL SDOS SCHOLARSHIP ARTICLES.

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