VCCS Incentive Scholarships (language only)

Item 163 #1s

Language
Page 139, after line 37, insert:
"Incentive Scholarships (10820) $0 $0".
Page 139, after line 39, insert:
"A.1. Beginning July 1, 1998, community college students who are Virginia residents shall receive Incentive Scholarships for their second year of community college education if they achieve a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale during their first year as full-time community college students, and if in their second year they are enrolled as full-time students in a selected technical training program.  The amount of the scholarship in the first semester shall be equal to 50 percent of annual tuition and required fees.  In the second semester, the amount of the scholarship shall be the greater of 50 percent of the annual tuition and required fees or a portion of that amount pro-rated according to the number of eligible students and the balance available in the second semester for Incentive Scholarships.
2.  The Virginia Community College System, in consultation with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, shall select each year the technical training programs that will best improve the work force needs of businesses in the Commonwealth.  The incentive scholarships will be limited to full-time students enrolled in such programs in their second year.
3.  Any appropriations made for Incentive Scholarships shall be included in the Community College Incentive Fund.
Any balance for Incentive Scholarships at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse, but shall remain in the fund and shall be available for expenditure in the next fiscal year.
4. These provisions are contingent upon passage of Senate Bill 926, of the 1997 Session."

Explanation
(This amendment establishes in the Appropriation Act the Incentive Scholarships program, contingent upon passage of Senate Bill 926, 1997 Session. The scholarships would first be awarded after July 1, 1998.)