(a) The Virgin Islands Higher Education Scholarship Program administered by the University of the Virgin Islands to provide tuition scholarships for students to attend the University of the Virgin Islands is established.
(b) The University of the Virgin Islands through its scholarship program shall provide tuition aid to full-time or part-time students pursuing their first associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or both, or to students attending the University pursuant to the Dual Credit Program under section 41d of this title. The University of the Virgin Islands may award full or partial tuition scholarships to students pursuing an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree.
(c) The President of the University of the Virgin Islands shall appoint a five-member scholarship board from its faculty and staff to administer the scholarship program as directed by regulations promulgated by the University of the Virgin Islands Board of Trustees.
(d) To be eligible for a scholarship under this section a student must:(1) Be a United States citizen or a permanent resident of the United States;(2) Be a bona fide resident domiciled in the Virgin Islands at the time of making application to the scholarship program;(3) Have attended a Virgin Islands public, private, or parochial high school, or an adult Continuing Education Program, or received home instruction in accordance with title 17, chapter 9, subchapter I, section 84 of the Virgin Islands Code for a minimum of three years or who has attended a Virgin Islands public, private, or parochial school for not less than five years and have graduated with a cumulative 2.5 grade point average;(4) Have been a registered Virgin Islands high school student at the time of Hurricanes Maria and Irma who was forced to relocate to high school in another state or territory of the United States, and subsequently graduated from high school in another state or territory of the United States in 2018 or 2019.(5) Maintain a 2.5 grade point average at all times while in attendance at the University of the Virgin Islands;(6) Be seeking the student’s first associate’s or bachelor’s degree at a postsecondary institution; and(7) Meet all criteria established by the University of the Virgin Islands both for admission and for continued attendance; or(8) (A) Students in the dual credit program under section 41d of this title who meet the qualifications established by the University, as amended from time to time, are eligible for scholarships under this section if the conditions set by the University for admission into the dual credit program are met by the student, including, but not limited to the following:(i) Successful completion of the 10th and 11th grades at a Virgin Islands high school;(ii) A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;(iii) Minimum SAT scores set by the University of the Virgin Islands;(iv) Nomination and recommendation by the student’s high school; and(v) Participation and performance in a face-to-face interview with the Admissions Committee of the University of the Virgin Islands.(B) Subsections (e) and (f) of this section do not apply to students in the Dual Credit Program receiving scholarships to attend the University, and such students are exempted from the requirement to sign a contract committing to work in the Virgin Islands. However, if a student who receives scholarships under this subsection based on the Dual Credit Program, who after graduation from high school, is admitted for regular admission to the University of the Virgin Islands and chooses to accept scholarships under this section as a regular student of the University, then the student must comply with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
(1) Be a United States citizen or a permanent resident of the United States;
(2) Be a bona fide resident domiciled in the Virgin Islands at the time of making application to the scholarship program;
(3) Have attended a Virgin Islands public, private, or parochial high school, or an adult Continuing Education Program, or received home instruction in accordance with title 17, chapter 9, subchapter I, section 84 of the Virgin Islands Code for a minimum of three years or who has attended a Virgin Islands public, private, or parochial school for not less than five years and have graduated with a cumulative 2.5 grade point average;
(4) Have been a registered Virgin Islands high school student at the time of Hurricanes Maria and Irma who was forced to relocate to high school in another state or territory of the United States, and subsequently graduated from high school in another state or territory of the United States in 2018 or 2019.
(5) Maintain a 2.5 grade point average at all times while in attendance at the University of the Virgin Islands;
(6) Be seeking the student’s first associate’s or bachelor’s degree at a postsecondary institution; and
(7) Meet all criteria established by the University of the Virgin Islands both for admission and for continued attendance; or
(8) (A) Students in the dual credit program under section 41d of this title who meet the qualifications established by the University, as amended from time to time, are eligible for scholarships under this section if the conditions set by the University for admission into the dual credit program are met by the student, including, but not limited to the following:(i) Successful completion of the 10th and 11th grades at a Virgin Islands high school;(ii) A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;(iii) Minimum SAT scores set by the University of the Virgin Islands;(iv) Nomination and recommendation by the student’s high school; and(v) Participation and performance in a face-to-face interview with the Admissions Committee of the University of the Virgin Islands.(B) Subsections (e) and (f) of this section do not apply to students in the Dual Credit Program receiving scholarships to attend the University, and such students are exempted from the requirement to sign a contract committing to work in the Virgin Islands. However, if a student who receives scholarships under this subsection based on the Dual Credit Program, who after graduation from high school, is admitted for regular admission to the University of the Virgin Islands and chooses to accept scholarships under this section as a regular student of the University, then the student must comply with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
(A) Students in the dual credit program under section 41d of this title who meet the qualifications established by the University, as amended from time to time, are eligible for scholarships under this section if the conditions set by the University for admission into the dual credit program are met by the student, including, but not limited to the following:(i) Successful completion of the 10th and 11th grades at a Virgin Islands high school;(ii) A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;(iii) Minimum SAT scores set by the University of the Virgin Islands;(iv) Nomination and recommendation by the student’s high school; and(v) Participation and performance in a face-to-face interview with the Admissions Committee of the University of the Virgin Islands.
(i) Successful completion of the 10th and 11th grades at a Virgin Islands high school;
(ii) A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
(iii) Minimum SAT scores set by the University of the Virgin Islands;
(iv) Nomination and recommendation by the student’s high school; and
(v) Participation and performance in a face-to-face interview with the Admissions Committee of the University of the Virgin Islands.
(B) Subsections (e) and (f) of this section do not apply to students in the Dual Credit Program receiving scholarships to attend the University, and such students are exempted from the requirement to sign a contract committing to work in the Virgin Islands. However, if a student who receives scholarships under this subsection based on the Dual Credit Program, who after graduation from high school, is admitted for regular admission to the University of the Virgin Islands and chooses to accept scholarships under this section as a regular student of the University, then the student must comply with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
(e) The University of the Virgin Islands shall require a recipient of the scholarship to work in the Territory of the Virgin Islands under the following conditions:(1) The scholarship recipient who receives a four-year scholarship for a bachelor’s degree must work in the Territory for three years;(2) The scholarship recipient who receives a two-year scholarship for an associate’s degree must work in the Territory for one year; and(3) The obligation to work in the Territory must be completed within seven years after graduation.
(1) The scholarship recipient who receives a four-year scholarship for a bachelor’s degree must work in the Territory for three years;
(2) The scholarship recipient who receives a two-year scholarship for an associate’s degree must work in the Territory for one year; and
(3) The obligation to work in the Territory must be completed within seven years after graduation.
(f) Students receiving a scholarship under this section shall sign a contract committing to work in the Virgin Islands in accordance with the conditions established in subsection (e) and must agree that failure to comply with any provision of this section will result in the scholarship’s becoming a loan payable to the Government of the Virgin Islands on demand at a rate of interest established by the University through regulations not to exceed the prime rate. Any monies collected pursuant to this subsection must be deposited into the University of the Virgin Islands Scholarship Revolving Fund.
(g) The University of the Virgin Islands shall develop and implement pre-enrollment programs to assist students in preparing for post-secondary education and continuing educational enrichment programs to assist scholarship recipients in succeeding academically and maintaining a 2.5 or better grade-point average.
(h) The University of the Virgin Islands, in collaboration with the Virgin Islands Department of Labor, shall develop and implement a job placement program at the University of the Virgin Islands to assist scholarship recipients in obtaining gainful employment in their fields of study or related fields.
(i) The University of the Virgin Islands Board of Trustees shall promulgate regulations to implement the University of the Virgin Islands Scholarship Program. The regulations must establish requirements for part-time students’ participation in the scholarship program, including timelines for completion of degrees, the minimum number of semester credit hours that must be taken, and the manner of fulfilling the obligation to work in the Territory pursuant to subsection (e).
(j) (1) The University of the Virgin Islands Scholarship Revolving Fund is established in the Treasury of the Virgin Islands. The Commissioner of Finance shall administer the Fund as a separate and distinct, non-lapsing fund.(2) The Fund consists of an annual appropriation of $3,000,000 from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund, all private charitable and federal grants, and any other scholarship donations gifts, devises, bequests, and all other kinds of contributions of real or personal property, from persons, corporations, partnerships, trust funds, charitable or other eleemosynary organizations, domestic, national or foreign, as may be made to the fund from time to time and any other sums covered into the fund pursuant to law, as well as any additional contributions as may be appropriated by the Legislature.(3) Monies in the Fund may be used exclusively for tuition scholarships awarded under this section and for implementing the student enrichment programs under subsection (g).
(1) The University of the Virgin Islands Scholarship Revolving Fund is established in the Treasury of the Virgin Islands. The Commissioner of Finance shall administer the Fund as a separate and distinct, non-lapsing fund.
(2) The Fund consists of an annual appropriation of $3,000,000 from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund, all private charitable and federal grants, and any other scholarship donations gifts, devises, bequests, and all other kinds of contributions of real or personal property, from persons, corporations, partnerships, trust funds, charitable or other eleemosynary organizations, domestic, national or foreign, as may be made to the fund from time to time and any other sums covered into the fund pursuant to law, as well as any additional contributions as may be appropriated by the Legislature.
(3) Monies in the Fund may be used exclusively for tuition scholarships awarded under this section and for implementing the student enrichment programs under subsection (g).