2019 US Virgin Islands Code
Title 17 - Education
Chapter 33 - University of the Virgin Islands
§ 477. University of the Virgin Islands Congressional Internship Scholarship Program; established
(a) There is established within the University of the Virgin Islands the University of the Virgin Islands Congressional Internship Scholarship Program to provide Virgin Islands college students with an integrated academic and work experience in the congressional offices and other agencies in Washington, D.C. to prepare themselves for lives of achievement and civic engagement.
(b)
(1) The Congressional Internship Scholarship is open to college students at the undergraduate level who have completed at least half of the needed requirements for a Bachelor's Degree, and to post-graduate level students attending institutions of higher learning located in the Virgin Islands.
(2) Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement meeting any prerequisite courses of study as may be prescribed by the committee, leadership ability, community service, career goals and such other criteria as the scholarship committee may establish pursuant subsection (d).
(c) The University of the Virgin Islands shall affiliate with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars and establish specific guidelines for the students' participation in Washington Center programs. Any affiliation agreement between the University of the Virgin Islands and the Washington Center must address the awarding academic credit arrangements for billing and the application process.
(d) The President of the University of the Virgin Islands shall assign a faculty member to serve as a liaison to The Washington Center and shall appoint a committee to develop and administer the scholarship program, including:
(1) establishing application procedures;
(2) establishing additional eligibility criteria;
(3) determining the amount and type of academic credits awarded upon completion of the internship;
(4) recruiting and preparing participants for internships;
(5) planning for funding financial assistance and scholarships for the Congressional Internship Program;
(6) promoting the program within the public and private institutions of higher education in the Virgin Islands and any governmental agency and any charitable foundation;
(7) applying for and accepting advances, loans, grants, contributions, gifts, donations, appropriation of funds and other forms of financial assistance from the federal government; from the Government of the Virgin Islands or from any source, public or private, for the purposes of this section; and
(8) Performing such other duties as required in implementing the internship program.
(e) The University of the Virgin Islands shall provide salary and stipends for lodging and transportation during a maximum of four months of full-time work in a Washington Center Internship.
(f) The University of the Virgin Islands shall award program participants academic credits for successful completion or Congressional internships.
(1) All money in the Fund must be used exclusively to provide scholarships to The Washington Center Congressional Internship Program, and must be disbursed upon authorization of the University.
(2) The Fund consists of all sums appropriated from time to time by the Legislature, the proceeds of fundraising conducted by the scholarship committee established in section (d), all grants, loans contributions gifts, donations, and other forms of financial assistance from the federal government; from the government of the Virgin Islands or from any source, public or private.
