2011 Missouri Revised Statutes
TITLE XI EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES
Chapter 173 Department of Higher Education
Section 173.198. Undergraduate program established, administration, qualifying degrees--amount--eligibility--exit examinations, analysis of--renewal.

173.198. 1. There is hereby established the "Undergraduate Scholarship Program", which shall be administered by the coordinating board for higher education. The program shall, upon appropriation, provide scholarships, subject to the eligibility criteria enumerated in this section, for persons who pursue an undergraduate degree in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology, life sciences, teacher's education in mathematics or science, and foreign languages.

2. The amount of any scholarship granted under the undergraduate scholarship program shall be five thousand dollars, except that in no event shall the total amount of any scholarship received under this section plus the amount of any scholarship received under the higher education academic scholarship program, otherwise known as the "bright flight program", pursuant to section 173.250, exceed five thousand dollars.

3. In order to be eligible to receive a scholarship pursuant to this section, a person shall:

(1) Be a United States citizen and a Missouri resident in the third, fourth, or fifth year of study at any public or private institution of higher education in this state and have completed at least sixty hours of accredited higher education study at any public or private institution of higher education in this state;

(2) Rank in the top fifteenth percentile in either the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Test);

(3) Be a full-time student at any public or private institution of higher education in this state;

(4) Be a declared major in one of the academic disciplines enumerated in subsection 1 of this section;

(5) Agree to submit to the exit examination developed under subsection 4 of this section.

4. The coordinating board for higher education shall, in consultation with academic experts in the respective disciplines in this state, administer comprehensive exit examinations in each field of academic discipline enumerated in subsection 1 of this section to be administered every year. Such examinations shall be selected so as to measure the breadth of knowledge of the examinee and allow for novel and creative ideas in the respective discipline.

5. The coordinating board shall analyze the results of the exit examination administered pursuant to subsection 4 of this section. If, in the opinion of the coordinating board, three years after implementation of the undergraduate scholarship program in a particular field of study, average scores on exit examinations of scholarship recipients fall below the fiftieth percentile, new undergraduate scholarships in that particular academic discipline at that particular institution of higher education shall be discontinued for a period of one year.

6. All scholarships issued pursuant to sections 173.197 to 173.199 may be renewed annually if the coordinating board is satisfied that the recipient is making satisfactory academic progress.

(L. 1993 H.B. 566 15)

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