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Fort Lewis College Official Seal

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2021-2022 Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship

Policy Summary

This policy states the requirements for the award, disbursement, renewal, cancellation, and reinstatement of the Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarships awarded for the 2021-2022 academic year.   

Policy Owner

Vice President, Finance and Administration

Approval Date

July 16, 2020

Effective Date

July 16, 2020 for FY 2021-2022 Awards

Search Terms

vpfa, v, wue, w

Scheduled for Review

April 2021

Section I. General Requirements for the Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship

  1. The application for admission serves as the application for the Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship, hereafter WUE scholarship.
  2. Students must be admitted as a first-time, baccalaureate-seeking, freshman or transfer in a Fall or Spring semester to be eligible for a WUE scholarship.
  3. A student receiving the WUE scholarship cannot receive another Fort Lewis College tuition merit scholarship.
  4. WUE scholarships can only be applied to Fort Lewis College tuition expenses.
  5. WUE scholarship disbursements are applied to the Fort Lewis College tuition bill by the Accounting Office.
  6. A student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits by Census Date to be eligible for disbursement.
  7. WUE scholarships will be disbursed at 50% of the annual award each Fall and Spring semester.
  8. A student receiving benefits under Fort Lewis College policy 4-13 Tuition Reduction Benefit Program for Spouses and Dependent Children are eligible for a WUE scholarship but the scholarship will be applied last, after the tuition reduction, up to the cost of tuition.
  9. A student receiving full tuition benefits from an external agency is not eligible for a WUE scholarship.
  10. A student receiving partial tuition benefits from an external agency is eligible for the WUE scholarship, but the scholarship will be applied last, after the external agency tuition benefits, up to the cost of tuition, unless an agreement between an external agency and Fort Lewis College specifies otherwise.
  11. An employee eligible for tuition benefits under 4-6 Staff Study Privileges policy who is also eligible for a WUE scholarship will have their merit scholarship applied first.
  12. The Director of Admission (or designee) may make exceptions to the initial award criteria for special circumstances, which may include, but are  not limited to, high schools with  pass/fail grading systems, etc.

Section II. Eligibility Criteria for Initial Award of the Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship

  1. Freshman Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship
    1. Must be a permanent resident of a WUE state/territory (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam).
    2. Must have a cumulative high school grade point average of 3.00 or higher or GED scores of 165 or higher in all subjects.
  2. Transfer Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship
    1. Must be a permanent resident of a WUE state (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming).
    2. A student must be admitted as a transfer student in the Fall or Spring semester.
    3. A student must be pursuing his or her first baccalaureate degree.
    4. Student must have a cumulative college-level transfer grade point average of 3.00 or higher.
    5. Student must have a minimum of 30 college level credits as defined by Fort Lewis College.
    1. The minimum eligibility standards are:

Section III. Annual Award Amounts 

Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Scholarship annual award amount is the difference between the cost of out-of-state tuition and one and a half times the student share of in-state tuition. 

Section IV. Renewal Criteria 

  1. The renewal criteria for the Freshman and Transfer Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Merit is:
    1. Cumulative Grade Point Average
      1. A student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher on college-level coursework taken at Fort Lewis College.

Section V. Length of Award

  1. The  Freshman WUE scholarship is renewable, assuming renewal criteria have been met, up 8 semesters
  2.  The Transfer WUE scholarship is renewable, assuming renewal criteria have been met, up to 8 semesters or 120 earned credits, whichever comes first.
    1. All earned college-level credits, including credits earned through evaluation of prior learning, dual enrollment, or transfer count toward the 120 credit limit.
  3. The 8 semesters will be counted from the student's first Fall or Spring term of attendance regardless of disbursement.

Section VI. Evaluation of Renewal Criteria

  1. A student receiving a WUE scholarship, regardless of whether the initial award was in the Fall or Spring semester, will be evaluated for renewal criteria by the Financial Aid Office after posting of grades by the Registrar for the Spring semester.
  2. A student not meeting renewal criteria after Spring semester who is enrolled in Summer courses at Fort Lewis College will be evaluated again after the posting of grades by the Registrar for the Summer semester.

Section VII. Scholarship Cancellation

  1. A student will have their WUE scholarship cancelled if they:
    1. Do not meet the renewal criteria set forth in Section IV.
    2. Has exceeded the award length set forth in Section V.
    3. Does not accept the scholarship through processes established by the Director of Financial Aid by Census Date of the first payment period.
    4. Does not meet the disbursement criteria set forth in Section I.
    5. Does not attend continuous Fall and Spring semesters after award of the scholarship. 
      1. A student who is enrolled in but subsequently officially withdraws from a semester will be considered to have failed to attend continuously.
      2. Enrollment in a Summer semester cannot substitute for failure to enroll in a Fall and Spring semester for purposes of meeting the continuous enrollment standard.
    6. Is no longer seeking a baccalaureate degree at Fort Lewis College.

Section VIII. Scholarship Appeals

  1. A student whose scholarship has been cancelled after initial award for any of the requirements stated in Sections I, IV, V or VII may appeal for reinstatement to the Scholarship Appeals Committee.
  2. To appeal, the student must prepare an appeals package. Required documents are:
    1. Completed and signed Institutional Scholarship Cancellation & Award Amount Appeal Form.
    2. Personal Statement.
    3. Documentation verifying the claims in the personal statement.
    4. A complete appeals package must be received by the Office of Financial Aid by the method and deadline published on the Financial Aid website.
  3. The Scholarship Appeals Committee may consider academic and disciplinary history and standing in making its decision.
  4. The Scholarship Appeals Committee may make the following determinations after review of an appeals package:
    1. Deferred.
    2. Denied.
    3. Denied with invitation to re-appeal after meeting specified conditions.
    4. Approved for immediate reinstatement of full or partial scholarship, with or without conditions.
    5. Approved for disbursement of partial scholarship in a Summer semester with conditions.

Section IX. Notifications

  1. Notification of Initial Award:
    1. The Office of Admission will send an official notification by letter.
  2. Notification of Changes to Initial Award:
    1. The Financial Aid Office will notify a student by email to the student's FLC email account of reductions or cancellations after initial award.  This notification will direct the student to their WebOpus account to view changes to their award. 
  3. Notification of Cancellations:
    1. The Financial Aid Office will notify a student by email to the student's FLC email account after the Spring semester if their scholarship is cancelled due to failure to meet renewal criteria unless a student is enrolled in the Summer semester at Fort Lewis College, in which case notification will be occur at the end of the Summer semester.  The notice will include the reason for cancellation and the process to appeal.
    2. The Financial Aid Office will notify a student by email to the student's FLC email account if a scholarship is being cancelled due to receipt of full tuition benefits from an external agency.  The notice will be sent when the Financial Aid Office has become aware of the external resources.  These resources could include, but are not limited to, private tuition scholarships or eligibility for the Native American Tuition Waiver.
  4. Notification of Appeal Decisions:
    1. The Scholarship Coordinator for the Financial Aid Office will notify a student by email to the student's FLC email account the decision made on a scholarship appeal.
  5. Notification of Changes in Terms and Conditions:
    1. The Financial Aid Office will notify students of any changes to terms and conditions approved by the President.
  6.  Reminders:
    1. The Financial Aid Office will send out an email to the FLC email address that informs students of the credit completion requirements as well as the award length limits. This email will be sent prior to registration for each term.
    2. The Financial Aid Office will send out an email to the FLC email address that reminds students who are not registered full time that they must register by Census Date or their scholarship will be cancelled.

Section X. Reason for Policy 

To specify the requirements for award, disbursement, renewal, cancellation, and reinstatement of Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarships initially awarded for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Section XI. Responsibilities 

For following the policy: Students receiving scholarship awards; Director of Admission, Director of Financial Aid, Scholarship Appeals Committee

For enforcement of the policy: Vice President, Finance and Administration

For oversight of the policy: Vice President, Finance and Administration

For notification of policy: Policy Librarian

For notification of policy to students:  Director of Financial Aid

For procedures implementing the policy: Controller, Director of Financial Aid, Director of Admission

Section XII. Cross-Referenced Policies 

  1. 4-13 Tuition Reduction Benefit Program for spouses & dependent children policy
  2. 4-6 Staff Study Privileges policy
  3. College Board Concordance Tables