Okla. Admin. Code § 610:25-41-7

Current through Vol. 42, No. 8, January 2, 2025

Section 610:25-41-7 - Participant eligibility for scholarship payments

(a) To the extent legislatively appropriated funding is available, the following scholarships will be awarded to eligible participants in the Inspired to Teach program:

(1) One thousand dollars ($1,000) per academic year for up to three (3) academic years for full-time students who have earned less than 90 credit hours; and

(2) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for the final academic year for full-time students who have earned 90 or more credit hours.

(b) To the extent legislatively appropriated funding is available, the following scholarships will be awarded to eligible fulltime students participating in Inspired to Teach according to the following tiers based on enrolled credit hours towards degree requirements if the student is entering the first year of undergraduate study, or earned credit hours towards degree requirements for all other students:

(1) Tier 1, requiring a minimum of 12 hours enrolled: $1,000

(2) Tier 2, requiring a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 47 hours earned: $1,000

(3) Tier 3, requiring a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 89 hours earned: $1,000

(4) Tier 4, requiring a minimum of 90 hours earned: $2,500

(c) Participants can receive a maximum of Five Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($5,500) in total scholarship awards. Students will not be eligible for multiple awards in an academic year. If a participant will become eligible for a Tier 3 award and a Tier 4 award in the same academic year, which is also the participant's final academic year, and the participant has yet to receive an award from either tier, then the participant may choose which award to receive. Scholarship award disbursements will only be made for fall and spring semesters of the academic year. There will be no summer semester scholarship disbursements.

(d) Participants who have earned less than ninety (90) credit hours towards degree requirements, but have received Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) in scholarship funding, will not be eligible for the final scholarship allotment of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500) until their final academic year of study.

(e) Participants who have earned 90 or more credit hours towards degree requirements but still have more than one academic year remaining to complete the teacher education degree requirements, may receive the Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollar ($2,500) award in the final academic year during a semester (fall and/or spring disbursement) designated by, and at the discretion of, the institution. Participants, upon receiving the Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollar ($2,500) award, will not be eligible for any of the scholarship awards granted to participants who have earned less than 90 credit hours towards degree requirements.

(f) Participants may utilize no more than one of the following provisions to become re-eligible for the Inspired to Teach program:

(1) Participants whose GPA falls below a 2.5, or who fail to maintain SAP, will have one academic semester (fall or spring) to re-establish a 2.5 GPA (or above) and SAP in order to have the scholarship benefit reinstated. Failure to meet the GPA and/or SAP requirements will result in the participant's withdrawal from the Inspired to Teach program.

(2) Participants who change majors to an ineligible area of study, fail to meet GPA and/or SAP requirements for two semesters, fail to maintain enrollment as a full-time student for one semester or completely withdraw from enrollment, will be allowed to reapply within one year of that occurrence as long as the participant does not graduate the same semester in which the participant reapplies.

(3) Participants who fail to meet the GPA or SAP requirement during the 2nd to last semester of their final year of matriculation, will not receive the scholarship benefit in the final semester; however, under the provisions of (1) of this subsection, if the participant re-establishes a 2.5 GPA (or above) and SAP within the final academic semester (before graduation), upon graduation, the participant's eligibility will be reinstated for employment incentive payments.

(4) Participants may obtain from the institution in which they are enrolled, an official letter reflecting a leave of absence or withdrawal when a serious illness, pregnancy, or other natural cause prevents the participant from continuing the coursework requirements or from fulfilling the provisions outlined under the eligibility requirements.

(A) College/ university withdrawals or leaves of absence may not exceed more than one academic year but will not be counted against the participant for the purposes of scholarship eligibility as long as the following criteria are met:

(B) Participants must present official college/university documentation to OSRHE at the time the withdrawal or leave of absence was granted which meets the requirements of this rule. Reapplication into the Inspired to Teach program must be received thirty (30) days prior to the participant resuming classes full-time or the participant may be withdrawn from the program.

(g) Participants who have been disqualified from the Inspired to Teach program but later become re-eligible pursuant to 610:25-41-7(f) shall be considered to have maintained program eligibility throughout matriculation for the purposes of 610:25-41-8(a)(1) if, following re-eligibility, the participant maintains Inspired to Teach program eligibility through graduation.

Okla. Admin. Code § 610:25-41-7

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 5, November 15, 2022, eff. 10/12/2022

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 22, August 1, 2023, eff. 8/11/2023

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 4, November 1, 2023, eff. 11/1/2023, exp. 9/14/2024 (Emergency)

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 21, July 15, 2024, eff. 7/25/2024