University Scholars Program Scholarship Incentives

Each academic year, you must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.250 or better to have your scholarship renewed for the following year. In order to have your scholarship continued from the first fall semester to the following spring semester, you must earn 12 credit hours or above with a 2.50 cumulative GPA. For any following semester, you must earn a 3.25 cumulative GPA and be in good academic standing.

If requirements are not completed at the end of the Spring semester then UCA summer term hours and GPA will be considered in the renewal process. Academic performance will be evaluated at the end of the Summer I and Summer II terms for students who do not meet requirements after the Spring semester. If requirements have been completed at the end of either term, the scholarship will renew at that time. Scholarship renewal criterion is based on UCA credit hours only.

Please note: These criteria apply to the University Scholars Awards only. Other parts of your total scholarship package, such as the Arkansas Challenge and Governor’s Distinguished Scholarships, have different criteria for renewal, and may be retained or lost without reference to your University Scholars Program standing and/or UCA scholarship awards.

You will be required to enroll in 15 hours each semester, and must be in 15 hours as of 4:30 pm on the 8th day each fall and spring (if not in 15 hours on the 8th day at 4:30, then  you will forfeit your scholarship and it will not be reinstated). The 15-hour rule does include the fall and spring of your freshman year, but your scholarship will be renewed if you complete at least 27 credit hours in the freshman year and 30 credit hours each subsequent academic year (Fall semester through Summer II). If requirements are not completed at the end of the Spring semester then UCA summer term hours and GPA will be considered in the renewal process. Academic performance will be evaluated at the end of the Summer I and Summer II terms for students who do not meet requirements after the Spring semester. If requirements have been completed at the end of either term, the scholarship will renew at that time. Scholarship renewal criterion is based on UCA credit hours only.

In order to have your scholarship continued from the first fall semester to the following spring semester, you must earn 12 credit hours or more with a 2.50 cumulative GPA. To renew from any other fall semester to spring semester, you must earn at least 12 credit hours and a 3.250 cumulative GPA.

If you are a recipient of the University Scholars Program Scholarship, and you leave the program but continue at UCA, you will lose your University Scholars Program Scholarship and will no longer be eligible to live in Honors housing. If you have maintained eligibility for an academic scholarship as defined by the Division of Finance and Administration, you will continue to maintain the UCA Academic Scholarship you were offered and formerly accepted at the time of your admission to UCA. If your University Scholars Program Scholarship has been withdrawn because of failure to meet minimum eligibility requirements, you may no longer be eligible for your academic scholarship either since the eligibility requirements are so closely related.

No. The stipend and private room upgrade will pay out in fall and spring semesters only.

Your University Scholars Program standing is your eligibility to enroll in University Scholars classes. While it is usually lost in tandem with the University Scholars Program Scholarships, it may be regained without achieving scholarship reinstatement, and it may be maintained by students who have already begun their capstone project.

Students lose their University Scholars standing if their end-of-first-year combined GPA is below 3.250. Second-year students must earn an end-of-second-year cumulative GPA of 3.25 with a 3.50 in their honors courses, but must additionally attain a second-year 3.25 combined GPA for that academic year to maintain their scholarship. They may regain standing if they achieve that minimum GPA at the end of the following regular semester (fall). In the case that a student loses his or her scholarship, but decides to appeal for a medical reason or some other purpose, then the decision regarding eligibility to continue in honors classes is decided separately from the reinstatement of the scholarship.

Students who have already begun their capstone project may not lose their standing in the program, although they may forfeit program standing voluntarily or on account of academic misconduct.

Yes. State law prohibits the stacking of scholarships once the total aid awarded to a student exceeds the Cost of Attendance (COA) calculated by the school. The office of financial aid is required to reduce your financial assistance in order to comply with state stacking regulations. You can view the Arkansas legislative information regarding this policy here.

Yes. The University Scholars Program will work with you to place your scholarship on hold for a semester or even a year for study abroad and internship opportunities as well as other obligations recognized by UCA’s scholarship compliance office. Students who have an academic scholarship placed on hold for the fall semester and receive the scholarship in the spring semester only must complete a minimum of 15 UCA undergraduate credit hours and earn the minimum GPA specified for their scholarship to renew to the following fall semester. Students who do not meet renewal requirements at the end of the spring semester may use May Intersession, 8- week Summer Session, and Summer I hours and GPA to meet renewal requirements.