WSU Tech is getting ready to for the state-wide launch of the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act coming this fall. On April 23, 2021, Governor Laura Kelly signed House Bill 2064 that authorizes the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act. This scholarship program is designed to assist Kansas resident students pursuing associate degrees and technical education certificates in high wage, high demand, critical industry programs of study. This is a service scholarship which means that in exchange for scholarship assistance, the student agrees to live and work in Kansas for a minimum of two years. Failure to do so will result in the student repaying the amount of funding that they received plus interest.
For students to be eligible for a service scholarship, they must:
- Be a Kansas resident
or - Have graduated from a secondary school within the preceding 12 months
or - Be 21 years of age or older and a Kansas resident for the preceding three consecutive years
or - Be a dependent child of a military service member permanently stationed in another state and who, with the preceding 12 months, graduated from any out-of-state secondary school or obtained a high school equivalency.
Students must:
- Complete the required scholarship application;
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form;
- Enter into a Kansas Promise Scholarship agreements; and enroll in an eligible program at an eligible institution.
Students may enroll on a part-time or full-time basis, but students must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of the Promise-eligible program and complete the program within 30 months from their first award. Upon completion of the program, students must reside and work in Kansas for a minimum of two consecutive years or enroll in a Kansas institution of higher education.
Students satisfy the requirements of the scholarship agreement if they:
- Complete the program agreements as agreed;
- Commence service as a military service member after receiving the scholarship;
- Are determined by the Board of Regents to have “made the best possible effort to do so,” or
- Are unable to satisfy the requirements due to disability or death of the recipient.
If any condition of the agreement is not met; the student must repay the scholarship plus accrued interest (at the federal PLUS program interest rate) within six months after failure to satisfy the agreement.Causes for repayment would include if a student changes enrollment to another program.
Installment payments are allowable on the indebtedness for the student and the indebtedness can be transferred to a loan servicer or collections agency. Requirements may be postponed by the Board of Regents for “good cause”.
Eligible Program of Study include:
- Information technology and security;
- Mental and physical healthcare;
- Advanced manufacturing and building trades;
- Early childhood education and development; or
- One additional designated program, if the additional program is a two-year associate degree program or a CTE certificate or stand-alone program that corresponds to a high wage, high demand or critical need occupation.
Institutions will be charged with making individual awards to eligible students (including verification of student’s eligibility) and maintaining student-level records as required by the Board of Regents to document satisfaction of the bill’s requirement. Additionally, institutions must sign an assurance agreement with our agency prior to disbursement of any funds.
Within certain income guidelines, students may receive a scholarship in the amount of:
- Aggregate amount of tuition, required fees, books and required materials less all other aid, grants, scholarship or financial assistance awards that do not require repayment (i.e. loans).
Scholarships are to be prioritized according to applicants’ annual household income as follows:
- $100,000 or less for a family of two;
- $150,000 or less for a family of three; and
- $150,000 + $4,800 per additional family member beyond three.
If funds remain after awarding eligible applicants, other students with greater household income may become eligible.
This scholarship will become law on July 1, 2021, therefore it will be available for the 2021-21 academic year. Further information will be forthcoming. The Board of Regents office is currently working on identifying eligible programs, creating a statewide application form, developing agreements for students to sign upon acceptance of the scholarship, and agreements between the Board and the eligible institutions to clarify responsibilities.
