Payment Procedures for the Byrd Scholarship

Payment Process Overview
Completing the Payment Request Roster
Payment Claims Deadlines
Disbursement
Payment Results
Exceptions to Full-Time Enrollment Requirement
Award Amount Proration
Suspended Eligibility

Payment Process Overview

Payment processing for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship (Byrd Scholarship) is available electronically via the Byrd Payment Online system at My Zone.

Byrd recipients who meet enrollment requirements for fall and spring semesters (or fall, winter and spring quarters) may receive up to $1,020 for the 2011-12 academic year. Byrd scholarship funds will be sent in one disbursement of $1,020. Funds from this program may be received only for terms in which the recipient meets enrollment requirements (up to $510 per semester or $340 per quarter for full-time 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.

Completing the Payment Request Roster

Students who display on the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Roster screen are new and renewal Byrd scholars who have certified that they continue to meet the program requirements and indicated your college as where they will attend during the 2011-12 academic year. Information that displays on the Byrd Payment Roster screen is a combination of the paper version of the Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Roster and the Payment Exception form.

By electronically submitting a roster to ISAC via My Zone, a school is certifying that the student meets all eligibility criteria. It is important to complete and submit a payment roster on a timely basis so that ISAC can monitor the fund balance throughout the academic year.

Refer to the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program section page at My Zone for details about the Byrd payment claim process, instructions for completing and submitting payment request rosters to ISAC, sample rosters, how to view, save or print a roster and how to view voucher information. The Byrd Payment Quick Reference Guide in a pdf format can be printed and kept near the computer to assist with the entry of Byrd payment requests.

Payment Claim Deadlines

Colleges should access the Byrd Scholarship Payment Request at My Zone on a regular basis to see if a new payment request roster is available. Byrd payment claims must be submitted electronically within 30 calendar days after payment request rosters are available at My Zone (date on roster). It is important to complete and submit a payment roster on a timely basis so that ISAC can monitor the fund balance throughout the academic year.

Disbursement

ISAC authorizes a voucher in the amount of the payment claim and submits it to the State Comptroller’s Office, which then issues payment to the institution. Voucher information is available online for each Byrd payment request after rosters are processed and a voucher number and voucher date have been entered into the My Zone system by ISAC. The school will receive a copy of the voucher prepared by ISAC for whom payment has been requested. The payment request roster report can be printed and used to reconcile with the voucher and with the check received from the Comptroller.

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 (MAP) 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 must use the Check Return Form to return to ISAC the amount of the scholarship for the semester(s) or quarter(s) the recipient did not attend.

Payment Results

Voucher information is available online for each payment request roster after rosters are processed and a voucher number and voucher date have been entered into the My Zone system by ISAC.  Payment vouchers will continue to be mailed to colleges. As vouchers are received, colleges should access Byrd Scholarship payment rosters at My Zone and then use the voucher number and voucher date on each roster to match payment data for individual student records. Having access to the vouchered rosters at My Zone replaces the photocopies of Byrd Scholarship payment rosters that were previously included with the voucher mailings.

To access voucher information through the Byrd Scholarship Payment Roster, select the appropriate payment request roster date from the drop-down box, if applicable, and open the corresponding payment roster. The voucher number and voucher date will display on the screen if records have been vouchered. When a voucher number and date have been assigned, the name of the screen changes to Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Roster -Vouchered. Print the roster using the <Print Roster> button at the bottom of the screen, to document that a record has been included on a voucher.

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. Exception reasons for a postponement are family responsibilities, financial difficulties, medical problems, personal or other. Eligibility is terminated for first year students who do not meet eligibility requirements or are not enrolled full time for the entire academic year. Upper classmen are not eligible for a Postponement. New awards were not announced for the 2011-12 academic year, therefore, a Postponement exception does not apply and should not be used.
• Interruption — Enrollment after the first year of study may be interrupted for up to a maximum of twelve months. Exception reasons for an Interruption are: cooperative education, study abroad, family responsibilities, financial difficulties, medical problems, or other.
• 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. Exception reasons for a waiver are: family responsibilities, financial difficulties, last term, medical problems, or other. 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, half time).

If a postponement, waiver or interruption is approved at the time a payment request is entered on line, the Financial Aid Administrator must provide an exception type and reason, confirming that the school is aware of the Byrd Scholar’s situation.

Note: The scholar is not eligible to receive scholarship funds during periods of postponement or interruption. Scholarship funds that would have been awarded to the scholar during that time period can be awarded during a subsequent period of undergraduate enrollment. If the postponement, interruption or waiver of the full-time enrollment requirement exceeds twelve months, scholarship funding is terminated.

Award Amount Proration

The Annual Award Amount must be prorated when a waiver of the full-time enrollment requirement is approved. Proration is calculated based on a student’s enrollment status in each term [e.g., if a student at a semester school is full time one term and half time one term, the annual award amount should be adjusted to $765 ($510 + $255)].

Enrollment Status	Semesters	Quarters
Full time = 12 or more credit hours	$510	$340
Three-Quarters - 9-11 credit hours	$382.50	$255
Half time - 6-8 credit hours	$255	$170

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. Scholarship funds suspended in an award year cannot be awarded to the scholar during a subsequent period of enrollment at any institution. Eligibility for a scholarship is terminated when the total of suspension periods exceeds 12 months. Eligibility will also be terminated if a new recipient is enrolled, but does meet the continuing eligibility requirements during their first year.