Payment Procedures for the Byrd Scholarship

An Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Roster and cover letter will be sent to the college or university in the fall to request payment. 

Byrd recipients who meet enrollment requirements for fall and spring semesters (or fall, winter and spring quarters) may receive up to $1,500 per academic year. Byrd scholarship funds will be sent in one disbursement of $1,500. Funds from this program may be received only for terms in which the recipient meets enrollment requirements (up to $750 per semester or $500 per quarter for fulltime attendance). Schools will need to monitor each student's enrollment status of all subsequent terms and return the amount of the scholarship for terms not attended or for failure to meet program requirements.

The school will receive a copy of the voucher prepared by ISAC and a payment report listing the students for whom payment has been requested.  Individual awards must be credited to the student’s account for any institutional expenses, not to exceed the student’s cost of attendance.

• The amount of any federally guaranteed student loans should be decreased prior to reducing the amount of the Byrd Scholarship.
• A Monetary Award Program Grant should be decreased prior to reducing the amount of a Byrd Scholarship.
• The Byrd Scholarship should be decreased prior to reducing the amount of a Federal Pell Grant.
  Upon receipt of funds, schools verify the recipient’s enrollment status for the term the award was intended.  If the recipient withdraws from school before the end of the academic year, the school will return to ISAC the amount of the scholarship for the semester(s) or quarter(s) the recipient did not attend.

Exceptions to Full-Time Enrollment Requirement
{ISAC Rules, Section 2755.30(e)}

Byrd Scholars must be enrolled on a full-time basis, except as noted below:

• Postponement — A new recipient may postpone enrollment up to a maximum of twelve months.
• Waiver of Full-Time (FT) Enrollment — If after the first year of undergraduate study, unusual circumstances are verified by the school, the recipient may be enrolled at least half time and receive scholarship funds. If the full-time enrollment requirement is waived, the Byrd award is prorated according to the recipient's enrollment status (i.e., three-quarter time, halftime).
• Interruption — Enrollment after the first year of study may be interrupted for up to a maximum of twelve months because of cooperative education, study abroad, financial, medical, or family reasons.

In order to allow a Byrd Scholar to be considered for a postponement, waiver, or interruption, the Financial Aid Administrator must complete and submit to ISAC a signed Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program Payment Exception Form.  By completing and submitting this document, the Financial Aid Administrator is confirming that the school is aware of the Byrd Scholar’s situation and has determined a payment exception should be granted.

Suspended Awards

If the recipient does not meet continuing eligibility requirements within the award year, scholarship funds will be suspended.  The scholar may not receive scholarship funds during the period of suspension.  If the suspension period exceeds twelve months, scholarship funding is terminated.  Funds that the scholar cannot receive during the period of suspension cannot be awarded to the scholar during a subsequent period of enrollment at any institution.