MT. SAN JACINTO COLLEGE FOUNDATION

Scholarship Policy

1996

Rev. March 2011

Rev. February 2017

I. GOAL

The goal of the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation Scholarship Program is to provide financial support to students in their pursuit of higher education within the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. This financial support is provided through scholarships and Help a Student grants awarded to students while they are enrolled within the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. In addition, the Foundation acts as a conduit for providing scholarships and Help a Student Grant funds from other sources to students enrolled at within the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District.

II. SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

The Scholarship Committee is a standing committee of the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation. As such, the chair is appointed by the President of the Foundation, and members of the committee are selected by the chair. The membership of the scholarship committee will consist of the chair, and no less than two additional Foundation members. In addition, the Executive Director of the Foundation or designee will be a non-voting member.

A.  Meetings

1.  The committee will meet annually, during the spring term and prior to the Scholarship Awards Reception, to select recipients of scholarships designated for selection by the Foundation.

  1. Committee members will be assigned a group of scholarship applications to review electronically prior to the annual meeting.

1.  The Scholarship Committee shall meet annually to review the scholarship guidelines of the Foundation. Any updates will be presented to the Foundation Board for approval prior to the Spring Scholarship selection process.

B.  Reporting

1.  In May the committee will present a list of students designated to receive Foundation scholarships to the Foundation Board.

III. SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS/FUNDS

Scholarship funds received by the Foundation shall be placed in restricted and/or revolving accounts according to funding type and/or the donor’s request. Where a named account is not specified by the donor, funds will be placed in the Foundation’s general scholarship fund.

A.  Account Definitions

1.  Undesignated

Scholarship funds donated to the Foundation not connected to a specific scholarship account and/or student. Awarding of these funds is based upon the Foundation’s general scholarship criteria established by the Foundation.

2.  Revolving

Scholarship funds that pass through the Foundation that are connected to a specific scholarship account and/or student. These scholarships include memorial, grants, donations from community organizations, schools district funds and a host of private donations. Funds are awarded based upon the donor’s criteria and/or directions.

3.  Restricted

Endowments to the Foundation for the purpose of maintaining perpetual scholarships. These scholarships are funded by the income of the invested funds, with the principle remaining restricted. Funds are awarded based upon the donor’s criteria and/or directions.

B. Types of Scholarship Accounts

1.  Foundation General Scholarship Fund – Undesignated

  1. All donations designated as scholarship funds, but not connected to a specific scholarship account and/or student, will be placed in the Foundation’s general scholarship account.
  1. Award of funds from the Foundation general scholarship account will be based upon the Foundation’s general scholarship criteria established by the committee. (See Section VI for criteria)
  1. Funds awarded from the Foundation general scholarship fund will take the form of scholarships.
  1. Funds can be added to this account from revenue raised by the Foundation.
  1. Annually scholarship awards will be made from the revenue raised at the Annual Gala and/or any other Foundation fundraiser.
  1. The Foundation Board will annually evaluate the net revenue raised by the Foundation for the last 3 Fiscal Years to determine the average net amount of funding the Foundation can direct to Scholarships. (See the Foundation Gift Policy)

2.  Revolving Account

  1. Scholarships awarded by outside donors using the Foundations General Scholarship Application may be placed in a designated account as determined by the Foundation Office. The account will be named by the donor and/or the Foundation Office.
  1. Scholarship funds received by the Foundation through a grant or application process that will be awarded by the Foundation Scholarship Committee will be placed in a designated account.
  1. Scholarship funds received by an outside organization or individual that are to be disbursed to a specific student for a specific term or academic year are placed in a designated account for “pass-through” scholarships.

3.  Restricted Account

  1. Endowments to the Foundation for scholarship funds are placed in a restricted account. Scholarship awards will be made only from the earnings of the invested funds.
  1. The Foundation’s spending policy governs the rate at which endowment funds are released for current spending. The policy for endowments will be based on a target rate set as a percentage of the endowments average fair market value. (See the Foundation’s Investment Policy)
  1. The Foundation retains the right to assess a fund management fee to major accounts. The conditions and amount of this fee are established by the Foundation Board. (See the Foundation’s Gift Policy)
  1. Prospective donors should be made aware if their donation might be subject to this assessment prior to and/or at the time the gift is made.

V. LOANS AND HELP A STUDENT GRANTS

A.  In general, loans are not supported by the Foundation scholarship program.

B.  The Help a Student Grant program is administered by the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation Office. Rules and practices for the provision of Help a Student Grants are established by the Foundation Office.

C.  Funding for Foundation Help a Student Grants shall come from a fund other than the Foundation general scholarship fund.

  1. Funding for the Help a Student Grant primarily comes from student donations made at the time of Registration.
  1. The Scholarship Committee and/or Foundation Board may, from time to time, recommend that funds be added to the Help a Student Grant fund.
  1. Unless otherwise prohibited by a donor, the use of scholarship funds for Help a Student Grants will be considered consistent with the intent of the donor of the scholarship funds.

VI. SELECTION CRITERIA

A.  MSJC General Scholarship Criteria

It is the desire of the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation to assist students with a demonstrated financial need and to reward students who have demonstrated successful achievements in the classroom. The Foundation Scholarship Committee should strike a balance of between providing scholarship awards based upon need as well as merit. It is the duty of the Scholarship Committee to remember that regardless of an average or above average academic standing, a student can have financial need. For this reason, where no other criteria has been identified by the donor, both merit and achievement will be considered when selecting scholarship recipients.

Due to Federal Title IV and State regulations governing eligibility for financial aid, a student who is under the age of 18 will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Eligibility will be determined by the Foundation Office after consultation with Enrollment Services and Financial Aid.

1.  Merit

Merit will be established by the student’s cumulative GPA (grade point average) while enrolled at the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. The selection process may also include an evaluation of a written statement provided by the student and/or an oral interview of the student.

2.  Need

Need will be established by the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and/or Unmet Need as calculated on their most current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at the time the scholarship application is reviewed. Determination of need may also include an evaluation of a written statement provided by the student and/or an oral interview of the student.

a. The Expected Family Contribution is calculated by the Department of Education.

b.  Unmet need is calculated as the cost of attendance minus the expected family contribution per the student’s Financial Aid file.

3.  Enrollment

Unless otherwise specified by the donor, students receiving scholarships must be enrolled at least half–time (6 units) in the term designated for payment with a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher.

4.  Reference

Unless otherwise specified by the donor, students must have one reference from a teacher, counselor, employer and or community member who can attest to their academic and/or personal strengths.

  1. Students may request 1 additional reference.

5.  Waiver

The general scholarship criteria may be waived by the Scholarship Committee upon request from the student where there are compelling and/or unusual circumstances which justify such a waiver.

a.  While such waivers are not encouraged, this policy specifically empowers the scholarship committee to be the deciding body on these requests.

The Scholarship Committee will apply the above standards with care and compassion. In all cases the committee should attempt to benefit the most students while ensuring that students with unique personal circumstances receive the support necessary to begin/continue/complete their college education.

B.  Donor Specified Criteria

Donors may establish specific student eligibility and/or award criteria. The established criteria should include personal and academic characteristics. The Foundation Office will maintain a set of guidelines to assist donors in developing scholarship requirements.

1.  All student eligibility criteria must conform to Mt. San Jacinto College Board Policies, Federal and State laws, and the policies of the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation.

  1. Scholarships that meet such selection and award criteria shall be followed exactly by the Scholarship Committee.

2.  No scholarship may illegally discriminate on the basis of gender, race, creed, color and/or disability.

  1. Where one or more criteria established by a donor are found to be illegal, the donor will be contacted.
  1. If the donor is no longer available, the Scholarship Committee will make every effort to interpret the criteria as closely as possible to the donor’s wishes and/or intent while ensuring that no illegal discrimination takes place.
  1. Where a donor is not available and it is not possible for the committee to follow the donor’s wishes and/or intent without illegal student discrimination, the scholarship criteria will be submitted to the Foundation Board.
  1. For any scholarship submitted to the Foundation Board for issues of discrimination, legal counsel will be obtained.

3.  Where the donor does not specify eligibility criteria, scholarships will be awarded based upon the same criteria used in selecting recipients for the Foundation general scholarship. (See Section VI. A for criteria)

C. Intended Use

Unless otherwise specified by the donor, scholarships awarded by the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation are intended for use at Mt. San Jacinto College.

1. Funds from the endowment accounts may be transferred to other institutions after a student has completed 48 units at Mt. San Jacinto College. Students must request a scholarship transfer and provide proof of their enrollment at to the new institution before scholarship funds can be transferred.

b.  Students who qualify for a transferable scholarship will be emailed information on how to request the funds be transferred.

2.  The following scholarships controlled by the Foundation are not transferrable: The MSJC Foundation, Bernard Osher, The Community Foundation, Molly Adams, Agatha Baxter, and Lena T. Pond.

a.  Donors may specify transfer restrictions when establishing their selection criteria.

3.  On a case by case basis the Scholarship Committee retains the right to approve the transfer of a MSJC Foundation scholarship if there are compelling and/or unusual circumstances which justify such an amendment.

a.  Students have one academic year or a specific term, per the donor’s wishes, to use their scholarship funds.

  1. Students are notified of their scholarships academic year and/or term restrictions at the time they are emailed of their scholarship award.
  1. Remaining revolving scholarship funds will be returned to the donor at the end of each academic school year and/or term unless the donor has requested that any unused scholarship funds remain in their donor account.
  1. Remaining undesignated scholarship funds will remain in the Foundation General Scholarship fund.
  1. Remaining endowment scholarship funds will remain in their designated account.
VII. AWARD PROCESS

A.  Notification

Students who complete a scholarship application will receive an email notification once the scholarship selection process has been completed.

  1. Students who have been selected to receive a scholarship will be notified of their award(s).

a. Students will be provided all of the requirements to receive their scholarship.

  1. Students will accept all scholarship awards, acknowledging the requirements for funding.
  1. If a student indicates they will not meet one of the requirements, the scholarship may be rewarded.
  1. Students who have not been selected to receive a scholarship will be notified that they have not been awarded.

B. Recognition

1.  Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the annual Scholarship Awards reception.

a.  Students are required to attend the awards reception.

ii.  Failure to attend may result in the rescinding of their scholarship award.

iii.  Students are notified of this requirement at the time they are notified via email of their scholarship award.

1.  A student with an extenuating circumstance which affects their ability to attend the awards reception, may appeal to the Foundation office.

2.  Recipients will be presented with a Scholarship Certificate and have their name listed in the reception’s program.

3.  Recipients will have the opportunity to have a photo taken with the Foundation Board and/or the donor that awarded their scholarship.

C.  Disbursement

1.  Scholarship funds are disbursed and/or applied toward charges as per the donor’s wishes.

2.  Scholarship funds may be applied to tuition and fees, supplies and or other institutional charges.

3.  Scholarship funds disbursed directly to a student are processed through the Financial Aid office.

4.  Scholarship funds are disbursed in the same manner as all other financial aid and according to the financial aid disbursement schedule.

5.  After the fall semester, the units completed and the current cumulative GPA are reviewed for all recipients of continuing scholarships.

a.  The Foundation office will review those students receiving scholarships chosen by the committee and/or per the donor’s wishes.

6.  If a student does not meet the donor’s requirements for each scholarship, they may be found ineligible to receive the spring portion of their award.

7.  A student with a documentable extenuating circumstance, may appeal to the Foundation office.

a.  The Foundation office may reinstate the Spring scholarship award per the donor’s requirements/wishes and/or professional judgement.

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