KEES Scholarship On-Track to Graduate, Renewal Policy Change

This is a reminder to you that the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation requiring post-secondary institutions participating in the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program to report whether KEES recipients are "on- track to graduate" beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year, for students first enrolling in college during the 2009-2010 academic year. Information about this new regulation was sent to you previously by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) along with other information related to your KEES Scholarship. The text of the legislation is available at http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/164-00/7874.PDF.

How does this legislation affect your KEES Scholarship?

If you graduated from high school before May 2009, you are subject to the previous regulations that require you to have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the end of each spring term at the institution you are currently attending to retain eligibility for your full KEES scholarship or a 2.5 to 2.99 cumulative GPA to receive one half of your KEES scholarship. You must be full time and meet all other eligibility requirements to receive the full amount of the award.

If you graduated from high school in May 2009 or later, you are subject to the new regulations. Please read the following information carefully.

• If you have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of a spring term, you will NOT be evaluated for "on-track to graduate" and will retain your full KEES award for the next academic year if you are enrolled full-time and meet all other eligibility requirements.
• If you have below a 2.5 cumulative GPA at the end of a spring term, you will lose your KEES award for the next academic year.
• If you have a 2.5 to a 2.99 cumulative GPA at the end of a spring term, you will be evaluated to determine if you are "on-track to graduate" according to the following definitions and standards:
  
   

UofL Definition for On-Track to Graduate:

• UofL will monitor earned hours (including transfer hours) as part of the On-Track to Graduate evaluation.
• Earned hours required to be "on-track to graduate' include only hours earned during the fall or spring terms plus any transfer hours accepted by UofL.
• Any hours earned during a preceding summer will be counted as part of the cumulative earned hours evaluated at the end of the following spring term.
• On-Track to Graduate status will be measured at the end of each spring term along with your cumulative GPA at UofL and reported to KHEAA at that time.
• For purposes of this assessment only, you will be evaluated as a second year student when you have been enrolled at UofL for 4 terms; as a third year student when you have been enrolled at UofL for 6 terms;  and, as a fourth year student when you have been enrolled at UofL for 8 terms.
• The "on-track to graduate" requirement will not be monitored until you have attended UofL for a total of 4 terms. Until you have been enrolled for 4 terms, you will receive your full KEES award each academic year if your cumulative GPA is 2.5 or higher, if you are enrolled full-time and if you meet all other eligibility requirements.

On-Track to Graduate Evaluation Standards for Students `with a 2.5 to 2.99 Cumulative GPA:

• Second Year Student: When you have attended UofL for 4 terms, you must have earned a minimum of 48 credit hours (including transfer hours), have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA, meet all other eligibility requirements and be enrolled full-time to receive your full KEES award the following academic year.
• Third Year Student: When you have attended UofL for up to 6 terms, you must have earned a minimum of 72 credit hours (including transfer hours), have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA, meet all other eligibility requirements and be enrolled full-time to receive your full KEES award the following academic year.
• Fourth Year Student: If you have not used all 8 semesters of KEES eligibility by the end of your fourth year and you are not eligible to graduate and you have not been out of high school for five or more years, you must have earned a minimum of 120 credit hours, have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA, meet all other eligibility requirements and be enrolled full-time to receive your full KEES award the following academic year.

If You Do NOT Meet On-Track to Graduate Standards:

• If you are NOT "on-track to graduate" according to the above standards and you have a 2.5 to 2.99 cumulative GPA and you received a full-time award for at least one of the previous two semesters, your KEES Scholarship will be reduced by 50% for the next academic year. (Note: You must be enrolled for at least 6 hours to be eligible to receive any KEES Scholarship funds for the upcoming academic year.)
• If you were enrolled less than full-time for both previous semesters and you have a 2.5 to 2.99 cumulative GPA and you are NOT "on-track to graduate" according to the above standards, you will lose your entire KEES Scholarship for the next academic year.

Monitoring of students' "on-track to graduate" status began at the end of the spring 2011 semester.

Questions should be directed to our Call Center, (502)852-5511 or schsps@louisville.edu