Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship
About the Byrd |
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Rules & Regulations
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Bryd Application
-Robert C. Byrd 2010 Application Renewal -Waiver Request Criteria & Procedures School Flyer |
History of a United States Senator
| The Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Robert C. Byrd was born in 1917 and grew up during the Great Depression. He graduated from high school as valedictorian of his class. He was unable to afford college tuition, so instead of attending college he worked various blue-collar jobs to support himself. During World War II, he worked as a welder building Liberty and Victory ships. At the end of World War II, Byrd was able to attend college taking night classes. Byrd was elected to a House Delegate position with the state of West Virginia in 1946. Following two terms as a delegate, Byrd went on to the West Virginia Senate and next the U.S. House of Representatives. |
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In 1958, Byrd was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he continues to represent West Virginia. He pursued his law degree, while serving West Virginia and the United States governments, taking night classes. After 10 years of study, he graduated cum laude from the American University in Washington D.C., in 1963. As a U.S. Senator, Byrd secured the creation and continuation of the Robert C. Byrd scholarship program [34 CFR Part 654, Subpart A, Section 654.1]. This program is a national plan to offer a $1,500 scholarship to students with excellent academic skills in high school, and who demonstrate the possibility for continued educational success in college. |
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First Year Students
- The first year scholar must attend college full-time for the first year of study or the entire scholarship will be forfeited.
- The scholar must attend the school designated on the Recipient Agreement Form unless the Utah State Office of Education program coordinator has been contacted and received a written Change of Information Form prior to fund distribution.
About the Scholarship, Continuing Student Requirements and Renewal Information
- The scholarship is renewable for four years of undergraduate study only, provided the program continues to be funded and all requirements are met by the student.
- The scholar must attend school full-time unless a waiver has been pre-approved based on the guidelines below. Waivers must be requested in advance of the leave of absence. Failure to apply for a waiver will result in the forfeiture of the balance of the scholarship award.
- The scholar must make adequate academic progress as defined by the institution of higher education attended.
- A check will be mailed in two distributions to the institution of higher education you designate on the Recipient Agreement Form. These distributions will be mailed sometime in mid-September and mid-December.
- If you change your school of attendance at any time, you must notify our office in writing within 30 days of enrollment to ensure disbursement of funds to the correct institution; failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of the balance of the scholarship award.
- The scholar is expected to use $1,500 per year. It is the intent of the scholarship that the student attends four years, full-time and uses the funds during the appropriate year.
- The annual award is $1,500. This award may change annually dependent on continued federal funding.
- Full-time waivers will be granted for one of the following reasons:
- Illness as documented by a physician
- Religious mission duty as documented by proper authority
- Waivers must be requested in writing prior to a missed semester. Failure to apply for a waiver will result in the forfeiture of the balance of the scholarship award.
- An approved waiver will be assigned a date by which the student must be re-enrolled as a full-time student. If the student fails to meet this requirement, the remainder of the scholarship is forfeited.
- A part-time waiver is granted only for illness as documented by a physician. If approved for a part-time waiver you will receive ½ of the scholarship amount for that term.
- Application for a waiver does not guarantee the waiver will be granted.
- Scholars who have applied for and received a waiver will have their funds carried over to the following year or until the date set in the waiver agreement.
- If a waiver has not been approved for the scholar, the scholar must attend school full-time in good academic standing or the remainder of the scholarship will be forfeited.
- The Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship scholar must attend an eligible postsecondary
education institution that is located in:
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One of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the Freely Associated States
(the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic
of Palau).
- The school you attend must be an accredited institution of higher education to qualify.
- Military academies do not qualify to receive these funds.
- The scholar is enrolled at a qualified institution of higher education while abroad AND
- The scholar must receive credit from that institution of higher education for the study abroad.
Waiver Information
Description of a Qualified Institution of Higher Education
Study Abroad
Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship recipients may not use their scholarship to attend a foreign school; however, a scholar may study abroad as long as the following criteria are met:
If a scholar plans to study abroad and needs to attend a different qualified institution of higher education to accomplish this, the scholar must submit a Change of Information Form within 30 days of enrollment in the study abroad program. If any of these criteria are not met, the remainder of the scholarship funds will be forfeited.
Scholarship Repayment
Scholars who drop below full-time enrollment for any reason other than an illness documented by a physician, must repay the scholarship to the Utah State Office of Education of that academic year and will forfeit the remainder of their scholarship.
