General Appropriations Bill H. 4700 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998
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31 SECTION 13
32
33 TO AMEND TITLE 59, OF THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 149 SO AS TO ESTABLISH LEGISLATIVE
34 INCENTIVES FOR FUTURE EXCELLENCE (LIFE) SCHOLARSHIPS UNDER WHICH THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
35 SHALL PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS TO COVER THE COST OF ATTENDANCE UP TO SPECIFIED LIMITS TO ELIGIBLE
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1 RESIDENT STUDENTS ATTENDING CERTAIN PUBLIC OR INDEPENDENT TWO-YEAR AND FOUR-YEAR
2 INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN THIS STATE AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES.
3
4 A. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
5
6 "CHAPTER 149
7
8 Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence
9 (LIFE) Scholarships
10
11 Section 59-149-10. Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence (LIFE) Scholarships are established which must be offered by the
12 State. These scholarships cover the cost of attendance as defined by the Commission on Higher Education by regulation up to a maximum
13 of two thousand dollars a year to eligible resident students attending Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accredited
14 public or independent four-year colleges and universities in this State and four-year colleges and universities chartered before 1962 whose
15 main campus is located in this State, and to cover the cost of attendance up to a maximum of one thousand dollars a year to eligible resident
16 students attending SACS accredited public or independent two-year colleges or universities in this State and technical colleges.
17 Notwithstanding the above provisions of this section specifically excluded from those institutions eligible to receive LIFE scholarship funds
18 under the provisions of this chapter are colleges and universities whose primary purpose is religious or theological training and the granting
19 of professional degrees, for-profit institutions chartered after 1961, and institutions whose main campus is located out of this State. These
20 LIFE scholarships must be granted and awarded as provided in this chapter.
21
22 Section 59-149-20. (A) To be eligible for a LIFE scholarship, a student must be considered a resident of this State as provided in this
23 chapter.
24 (B) A student attending such a public or independent institution of this State and who is seeking a LIFE scholarship as a freshman
25 meets the residency requirements of this chapter if he meets the requirements of Section 59-149-50(A) in regard to high school or home
26 school graduation requirements and is classified as a resident of South Carolina for in-state tuition purposes under Chapter 112 of this title
27 at the time of enrollment at the institution.
28 (C) Students receiving a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship are not eligible for a LIFE Scholarship under this chapter.
29
30 Section 59-149-30. Full-time enrollment as defined in Title IV of the Federal Higher Education Act is a requirement for eligibility.
31 The student must be admitted, enrolled, and classified as a degree-seeking undergraduate student.
32
33 Section 59-149-40. These LIFE scholarships in combination with all other grants and scholarships shall not exceed the cost of
34 attendance at the particular institutions referenced in Section 59-149-10.
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1 Section 59-149-50. (A) To be eligible for a LIFE scholarship for the freshman year, a student must be either a member of a class
2 graduating from a high school located in this State on or after May, 1997, a home school student who has successfully completed a high
3 school home school program in this State in the manner required by law on or after May, 1997, or a student graduating from a preparatory
4 high school outside this State on or after May, 1997, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal resident of this State and
5 has custody of the dependent. In addition, the student must have graduated from high school with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade
6 average on a 4.0 scale, and have scored 1000 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or have the equivalent ACT score beginning
7 with school year 1998-99, 1050 or better beginning with school year 2000-2001, and 1100 or better beginning with school year 2002-2003;
8 provided that if the student is to attend such a public or independent two-year college or university in this State, including a technical
9 college, the SAT requirement does not apply. If a student chooses to attend such a four-year public or independent institution of this State
10 and does not make the required SAT score, the student may earn a LIFE scholarship after his freshman year if he meets the grade point
11 average and semester credit hour requirements of subsection (B).
12 (B) To be eligible for a LIFE scholarship after the student's freshman year, the student must have graduated from high school and meet
13 the requirements of subsection (A) except for the SAT requirement. In addition, the student must earn a 3.0 cumulative grade point average
14 on a 4.0 scale each year and earn at least thirty credit hours each year for the maximum of semesters permitted at that institution by Section
15 59-149-60.
16 (C) Students who were LIFE scholarship recipients seeking a degree at such a public or independent institution of this State during
17 their freshman year who failed to earn a cumulative 3.0 at the end of the term they attempted at least thirty hours may regain eligibility
18 if their cumulative grade average is a 3.0 at the end of the term they have attempted at least sixty hours if they are a sophomore or ninety
19 hours if they are a junior.
20 (D) By the year 2000, students graduating from high school to be eligible for a LIFE scholarship must have passed all courses required
21 for a STAR diploma.
22
23 Section 59-149-55. Notwithstanding the requirements under this chapter for a LIFE Scholarship, in the case of a student enrolled in
24 the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind or the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School whose handicap impacts on his ability to
25 meet the requirements of this chapter, the student may forward an application for a LIFE Scholarship to the Commission on Higher
26 Education. The commission shall review the application, degree of handicap, and special circumstances of the applicant. After a review,
27 the commission may waive those requirements presenting a hardship to the handicapped student and order the award of a LIFE
28 Scholarship.
29
30 Section 59-149-60. The student may receive a LIFE scholarship for not more than ten semesters for a five-year degree program, eight
31 semesters for a four-year degree program, or four semesters for a two-year degree program. In addition, students in order to be eligible
32 for these scholarships must enroll in such an accredited institution within two years of graduating from high school.
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1 Section 59-149-70. The student must not be in default on a Federal Title IV or State of South Carolina educational loan, nor owe a
2 refund on a Federal Title IV or State of South Carolina student financial aid program. If the student has repaid the defaulted loan or refund
3 in full, he is eligible to obtain a LIFE scholarship in the future.
4
5 Section 59-149-80. Students transferring from one eligible public or independent institution of this State to another are eligible for
6 a LIFE scholarship, if they continue to meet all eligibility requirements.
7
8 Section 59-149-90. (A) Students must not have been adjudicated delinquent or been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to
9 any felonies or any alcohol or drug-related offenses under the laws of this or any other state or under the laws of the United States in order
10 to be eligible for a LIFE scholarship.
11 (B) Regardless of the number of hours attempted, once the student has earned a bachelor's degree, he is ineligible for a LIFE
12 scholarship to seek another degree.
13 (C) All students who earn a LIFE scholarship under this chapter or the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship shall be recognized at graduation
14 from high school with a certificate issued by the Department of Education.
15
16 Section 59-149-100. Students enrolled in an eligible South Carolina institution qualify for a LIFE scholarship, even though they may
17 not be physically present in South Carolina during all or part of the school term for which the LIFE scholarship applies. The student's
18 institution must approve for credit a study-abroad or out-of-state program. Summer school may be substituted for one fall or spring
19 semester in any year in a planned program of study.
20
21 Section 59-149-110. (A) Any credit hours attempted or earned before high school graduation, hours exempted by examination, or
22 advanced placement credit hours do not count against the semester limits as provided in Section 59-149-60.
23 (B) No LIFE scholarship funds may be applied to the costs of continuing education or remedial courses.
24
25 Section 59-149-120. Any funds appropriated by the General Assembly to the Commission on Higher Education or any other agency,
26 department, or institution to provide funding for these LIFE scholarships may be carried forward from fiscal year to fiscal year.
27
28 Section 59-149-130. The commission shall promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the provisions of this
29 chapter. In addition, the commission must ensure accountability for the scholarship by monitoring the distribution of grades at the
30 institutions which receive these scholarship funds."
31
32 Section 59-149-140. All institutions participating in the LIFE Scholarship Program must report their enrollment and other relevant
33 data as solicited by the Commission on Higher Education which may audit these institutions to ensure compliance with this provision.
34
35 B. This section takes effect July 1, 1998.
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