The process of arriving at an approved award amount begins with identifying all eligible applicants for a given semester. Eligibility criteria are described in the “Eligibility” section of this site. All applicants found to be fully eligible are assigned an award amount equal to 6 credit hours of tuition and mandatory fees, but not to exceed $2,250. After all eligible applicants have been assigned this level of award, the funds remaining in the semester budget are applied to High Need Exemption requests. The highest possible award in this program is 12 credit hours of tuition and mandatory fees, not to exceed $4,500. 

The High Need Exemption is an opportunity for applicants to be exempt from the 6 credit limit of award funding. One of the pages in the State TA application form (available in the “How To Apply” section of this website) gives applicants the opportunity to request consideration for more than the standard 6 credit tuition award. The most significant factor that determines how many awards can be approved above the standard 6 credits is the available funds in the program budget. The budget does not allow approving all requests for more than 6 credits. 

To determine which ones will get approved for an exemption, requests are prioritized based on the information provided on the form and on the date of receipt of the application form. Requests are reviewed in order of assigned priority and assigned the maximum possible amount based on their financial eligibility (see “How Do I Qualify” section for an explanation of “financial eligibility”) and passing grades, up to the program limits of 12 credits, not to exceed $4,500. These award increases are continued until all budget funds have been obligated. 

Note: Since the Fall 2015 semester, there has not been adequate funding to approve ALL High Need Exemption requests. This trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.