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<p class=MsoNormal>On Friday, May 28, the State Regents for Higher Education
approved allocations of state appropriations for state system institutions and
programs. Following is a summary of the funding levels for our state
financial aid programs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Oklahoma’s Promise</u></b> – The
2007 legislation creating a dedicated funding process for Oklahoma’s
Promise has already set aside full funding of $57 million for the program for
2010-11. This is an increase of $3 million or 5.6% from the FY2010 level
of $54 million.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Outside of Oklahoma’s Promise, the overall funding for
all of our other state financial aid programs was required to be cut by 1.8% or
$655,000. Within this context, we had two priorities—to minimize or
eliminate any cut in OTAG and to ensure as best as possible that all student
award obligations in 2010-11 in the other programs were met.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG)</u></b> –
State funding for OTAG remained uncut at $18,927,327. Every effort
was made to avoid a reduction in funding for OTAG. Any cut in state
funding would have been exacerbated by the loss of all or part of the federal
LEAP/SLEAP matching funds that provide about $875,000 to the program. The
loss of the federal funds would have required an even earlier FAFSA
filing cutoff for 2010-2011 OTAG awards than April 1st. The April 1st
date was required due to a significant increase of OTAG-eligible applicants
compared to the same time period last year. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Academic Scholars Program</u></b> – The Academic
Scholars Program appropriation was cut by $555,351 or 6.5%. The program
has a modest trust fund balance that will be used to offset this cut and should
allow all award obligations to be funded in 2010-11. The reduction was
used to help eliminate a cut for OTAG and to fund a shortfall in the Regional
University Baccalaureate Scholarship program that has experienced an increase
in eligible participants. Unfortunately, the Academic Scholars trust fund
will largely be depleted in 2010-11 and thus the program will likely face a
funding deficit in 2011-12 that must be addressed in the coming year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Oklahoma Tuition Equalization Grant (OTEG)</u></b>
– The appropriated amount for OTEG was reduced by $250,000 or 6.5% from
$3,828,751 to $3,578,751. However, the OTEG trust fund has approximately
$250,000 in available carryover funds which will be utilized so that the actual
allocation in 2010-11 will be approximately $3,828,000. The $250,000
reduction in the current year appropriation level was used to help prevent a
cut in OTAG.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Regional University Baccalaureate Scholarship</u></b>
(state system regional universities only) – Funding was increased from
about $800,000 to $1,035,000 to ensure that all students award obligations are
met in 2010-11. The cost of the program has increased in recent years as
more students meet the eligibility criteria. The reduction in funding for
the Academic Scholars Program was used to address this program’s deficit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The Concurrent Enrollment Tuition Waiver reimbursement and
National Guard Tuition Waiver reimbursement for state system institutions were
reduced by 1.8%. However, some one-time carryover funds were available for
these two programs. Since these programs are administered directly by the
State Regents Fiscal Division, questions related to the reimbursement levels of
these programs are best directed through your institutional business officer to
the Regents’ Fiscal Division.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The remaining smaller scholarship programs that receive
state funding, including the Future Teachers Scholarship and the Nigh
Scholarship, also were cut by 1.8%. Award levels for these programs are
not expected to be affected by the cuts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>If you have questions, please let me know.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Bryce
Fair</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Associate
Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants</span><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phone:
405-225-9162</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Fax:
405-225-9392</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>e-mail:
</span><a href="mailto:bfair@osrhe.edu"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>bfair@osrhe.edu</span></a><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Mailing
address:</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>P.O.
Box 108850</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oklahoma
City, OK 73101-8850</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Street
address:</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>655
Research Parkway, Suite 200</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oklahoma
City, OK 73104</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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