Application And Initial Award Procedures

(1) Applications will be accepted from both entering college freshmen and college upper classmen for initial awards. To the extent practicable, two-thirds of new awards each year will go to entering freshmen. (2) By the deadline students from qualified high schools must submit applications to TSAC and have an official copy of the applicant’s high school transcript which contains the applicant’s class ranking and his/her grades through the seventh semester submitted by the high school to TSAC. The official ACT and/or SAT test score(s) for the applicant must be submitted to TSAC by the deadline also. The scores may be either on the transcript or by notice from the testing agency. Applicants who have earned college credit also must submit their official college transcript(s). (3) Recipients for initial awards will be selected by the following criteria: (a) The applicant must meet the minimum standards described in Section .02 hereinbefore. (b) The awards will be made with due regard for broad participation by recipients from across the State who are representative of various ethnic, racial, and socio-econonic characteristics, gender, and applicants with disabilities. In accordance with Section 523(d) of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, applicants who warrant special consideration will receive the first 75% of all new awards each year. (c) For freshman awards applicants will be rated 35% SAT/ACT Score, 40% high school cumulative grade point average, 15% upper class courses taken in math, natural science, and foreign language, 5% documented high school leadership activities, and 5% expressed intent to teach a critical discipline, i.e., in math, natural science, special education, elementary art, or elementary music. (d) Initial awards for applicants who had attended college previously will be determined utilizing a rating scale of 30% college cumulative grade point average, 20% plans to teach in a critical discipline as listed above and 40% grade point average in core subjects in the critical discipline. The remaining 10% will be determined by documented leadership activities while in college. Ties will be resolved by considering the number of college hours previously earned toward teacher certification and standardized test scores, in that order. (4) Preliminary ratings of applications will be made by the TSAC staff based upon the established criteria. A seven-person committee will be utilized which includes the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the State Commissioner of Education, the Executive Director of the State Board of Education, the President of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities, the Executive Director of TSAC and two other members appointed by the Executive Director of TSAC who, as a group, are representative of school administrators, teachers, including pre-school and special education teachers, and parents. The committee will review the top-rated candidates to determine the final selections. PAUL DOUGLAS TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CHAPTER 1640-1-11 (5) Within 30 days of the submission deadline, the tentative recipients will be notified of their selection. At that time the tentative recipients will have two (2) weeks to accept the award by signing the agreement described in paragraph .07 and a Promissory Note. The signed Agreement and Promissory Note must then be returned to TSAC, as well as a completed ED 80-0016 form. (6) The number of recipients selected for awards in any one year will be determined by the availability of funds for that year. (7) The award warrants will be made payable to the recipient, but will be sent, one term at a time, to the educational institution for delivery. Before the institution presents the award to the recipient, the institution shall ensure that the recipient is enrolled full-time for the period for which the award is given and that the recipient has maintained satisfactory progress in accordance with the published standards of the institution in which the student is enrolled. The certification of the full-time enrollment shall be forwarded by the school to the TSAC each term of the academic year. Certification of the minimum cumulative grade point average must be forwarded after the Spring term each year.