As a result of the Revenue Stabilization Law, Act 1517 of the 89th General Assembly, the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship program through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education was able to once again award scholarships equaling $3 million dollars to 300 of the top students in Arkansas. Notifications for awards were emailed to students Wednesday morning.
“Due to several different circumstances we were originally preparing to be able to only award 75-100 students for this coming year,” said Shane Broadway, ADHE interim director, “but due to the leadership and action taken to provide funding by Governor Beebe and the General Assembly we will be able to maintain this program level for Arkansas’ best and brightest students. We know that Arkansans who stay in-state for post-secondary education are more likely to enter our workforce and contribute to the economy.”
To qualify, students must achieve a score of 32 or higher on the ACT, maintain a 3.5 GPA, demonstrate leadership qualities and be ranked among classmates. Upon qualification, students are awarded up to $10,000 annually to attend the college or university of choice within the state.
This year, 390 students have qualified for the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship and were notified Wednesday, once the governor had signed the legislation into law. The top 300 will have up to one week to accept or decline the award, and those who have been waitlisted will be notified of their qualification, based on their rank, until all 300 scholarships are accepted.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education offers more than 20 additional scholarship programs, including the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship. The deadline to apply is June 1.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education is responsible for carrying out the policy directives of the AHECB, approving and reviewing college and university academic programs and developing funding recommendations for the state’s 11 public universities and 22 public two-year colleges as well as several other post-secondary entities.
In addition, the agency is responsible for distributing approximately $170 million annually from state revenues and lottery funds intended to ease the financial burden of students seeking an education beyond high school. For more information, visit www.adhe.edu.
