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3843 DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE RESOLUTION TO REQUIRE 15 OR MORE HOURS FOR MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS1 On behalf of the Educational Policy Committee, Archie Holmes (associate professor, electrical and computer engineering and committee chair) submitted the following resolution to require fifteen or more hours for merit-based scholarships. The secretary has classified this resolution as general legislation. The Faculty Council will discuss the proposal at its meeting on April 11, 2005. <signed> Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary The Faculty Council Distributed through the Faculty Council web site (www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/) on April 11, 2005. Copies are available on request from the Office of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500. 1On May 9, 2005, the Faculty Council approved a friendly amendment to change the proposal to a resolution. 3844 EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE RESOLUTION TO REQUIRE 15 OR MORE HOURS FOR MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS Motion: The Educational Policy Committee DOES NOT recommend that the following recommendation from the Task Force on Enrollment Strategy be adopted: Increase to 15 the minimum number of required hours for merit scholarships Background and Rationale: In the fall of 2004, the provost asked the Educational Policy Committee to review a number of recommendations from the Task Force on Enrollment Strategy. This motion is based on the recommendation below: Increase to 15 the minimum number of required hours for merit scholarships While the Educational Policy Committee believes that students who receive merit-based scholarships should take a full academic load (which we define at 15 or more hours), the concern with this recommendation is that the financial situation of the student is not considered. In some cases, the scholarship – plus other financial aid – does not cover a significant part of the cost of attendance at UT Austin. The estimated cost of attendance for the 2004-2005 academic year (see http://www.bealonghorn.utexas.edu/bal/education_cost.WBX for a breakdown) is $17,488 for on campus students and $18.142 for off-campus students who are Texas residents. For non residents, these numbers increase to $25,192 and $25,846 respectively. If the scholarship does not significantly improve a student’s financial condition, then increasing their required class hours to accept the scholarship is problematic. We looked into ways of tying the award of a scholarship to the unmet financial need of the student. In conversations with the Financial Aid Office, we believe that there is not a single solution to this issue.