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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE HIGHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP

The Academic Excellence Scholarship is a state supported program jointly administered by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Higher Education Aids Board (HEAB). The program offers scholarship recipients an exemption from specified tuition and fees for post high school education at eligible higher education institutions in Wisconsin. This program is authorized under state law and regulations.

Candidates for the Wisconsin Academic Scholarship are selected solely on grade point average. As per state statute, students with the highest grade point average (GPA) in all subjects, in the first seven semesters of their high school program, are eligible for this scholarship. Appleton Area School District High Schools will use an unweighted 4.0 grade point scale to compute GPA. Pass/fail grades are not included when calculating grade point averages.

Courses completed by students participating in study abroad programs will be accepted on a pass/fail basis. Alternative or home-based private education grades that do not have official transcripts from a recognized educational institution are accepted for credit on a pass/fail basis with no grade point value.

Students enrolled in the Appleton Area School District, who have reached senior status, are eligible for the Wisconsin Academic Scholarship. Senior status is determined as a student who is enrolled in his/her eighth semester of high school and who has completed at least 20 credits or has requested early graduation and has completed the District requirement of 23 credits.

Students must have been enrolled full-time for at least four consecutive semesters prior to the second semester of their senior year to be eligible for the Wisconsin Academic Scholarship. District students participating in approved foreign study programs during the 10th or 11th grades are considered District students during that time.

The scholarship committee of each high school will determine the recipients of the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Higher Education scholarships. The recipients must attend a Wisconsin public, technical, or independent college. If they later choose not to attend a Wisconsin college, the scholarship will go to the next person on the list. The recipients of the scholarships shall be chosen by using the following criteria in descending order until the recipients have been determined:

1. Highest overall grade point average carried out to three decimal places;
2. ACT composite scores (not including the writing score);
3. Total number of academic credits earned in the five academic disciplines (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Languages);
4. Total credits earned;
5. Co-curricular contributions.

Cross Reference:
School Admissions, 420

Legal References:
Wisconsin State Statutes 39.41
Wisconsin Administrative Code CH. HEA 9.05

Adoption Date: November 26, 1990

Amended Dates: June 8, 1998 and May 22, 2006