You are here

Precollege Scholarship Proposal FAQs and Deadlines

Precollege Scholarship Program 2023-2025 Proposal FAQs

Q: Is the grantee typically the post-secondary institution offering the precollege opportunity?

A: Yes, the grant is for post-secondary institutions offering precollege programs.

Q: Are all students in the proposed precollege program required to be of free and reduced lunch?

A: This is a scholarship program and we can only provide the post-secondary institution with reimbursement for eligible students (F/R meals eligible) that have completed a DPI Precollege Scholarship Program Application. The institution may choose to serve additional students that are not eligible for the scholarship at its own cost but there will be no scholarship reimbursement for ineligible students.

Q: Is there a minimum and/or maximum allowable grant amount?

A: There is no minimum or maximum amount for a grant award, but the total amount requested should be in alignment with the budget and cost per pupil amount indicated in the budget section of the proposal.  

Q: Is the institution only allowed to submit one grant request?

A: The institution will submit one grant proposal application, however, there can be more than one individual precollege program included. DPI Precollege Scholarship Program Proposal Application (PI-1574) and Individual Precollege Program Information (PI-1574-A).

Q:If a spring session ends after June 30, will the scholarship reimbursement be forfeited?

A: Yes. You must stay within the following date parameters without overlap:

  • Summer: July 1-Aug. 31
  • Fall: Sept 1-Dec 31
  • Spring: Jan 1- June 30
  • Full Academic year: Sept 1-June 30

 

 

Q:If the Summer Session begins on June 27, but ends within the specified period (August 31, 2024), will the scholarship reimbursement be out of bounds and forfeited?

A: Yes, this is out of the program guidelines and is not considered a summer session. Any session beginning before July 1, would be considered a spring session and would need to conclude by June 30; Although the session may have ended timely, it did not begin within the guidelines.  Summer sessions may begin as early as July 1st and end by August 31st.

Q: In the past, our summer programs over the years have begun the last week of June. Do we need to change the dates to begin in July to be in compliance?

A: Yes, to be in compliance with our new guidelines all summer sessions must begin on July 1 and end no later than August 31.  You may consider running two sessions - Ex: Session 1 running June 24th - June 30th; Session 2 running July 1st - July 7th.  You would need to submit an Individual Precollege Program Information (PI-1574-A) for both sessions when submitting your proprosal to DPI. 

Q: Will you be providing a new survey for us to use so you receive consistent results across programs and campuses? What kind of data are you looking for? examples might be: has student been accepted to college? student success in school setting?, repeat precollege participant?

A: The evaluation for each individual program will be dependent upon the goals and the measurable objectives that have been established for that precollege program. Consequently, it is impossible for us to standardize an evaluation method as the goals and objectives vary. Prior grant cycles also required schools to establish goals, measurable objectives, and evaluation methods. The difference is that we want the evaluation results to be reported on at the end of each program year. The report requirements can be found on pages 8 and 9 of the Precollege Scholarship Program 2023-25 Grant Guidelines.

Q: When do you anticipate letting campuses know of grant awards?

A: We hope to have the review completed and notifications sent by mid-April. However, Grant Awards Notifications are, as always, dependent on the Governor’s biennial budget and the approval of the budget by the legislature.

Q: If I am understanding correctly, our June camp this year is actually still being funded by the previous grant (2021-2023)? A: You are correct. The summer sessions run from July 1 to August 31. If you have a June 2023 camp then it would fall under the current grant cycle which ends on June 30, 2023.

Q: We have already started recruiting students for our Summer 2023 programs. Am I understanding correctly that if our proposal is not selected for funding we will not be receiving DPI Precollege Scholarship Program scholarship reimbursement for programs this summer?

A: Unfortunately, yes. The current grant cycle ends on June 30, 2023. Programs that end after that time would be part of the 2023-25 grant cycle and as the competition is not complete, we do not know which precollege programs will be funded. If your proposal is not funded for the new cycle DPI will be unable to reimburse for scholarships for these programs.
Q:In regards to verification and DPI scholarship forms, are the due dates firm? We have some programs that are held much later in the session so the due date would fall before we have even started the program. We also usually have a few scholarship forms that aren't verified or signed by parents on time and they may send them in later. Is there flexibility or do all scholarship applications and the verification form need to be submitted on the due date? A:There has been a change to the due dates. The verification form with the scholarships will be due at the mid-point of your program, rather than the mid-point of the session. See the FAQs chart for the update. Should you experience any additional delays, please contact the DPI-WEOP Grant Specialist as soon as possible. 
Q: Our academic year program would fall under 2 cycles - fall and spring. If we did 2 cycles, we would need to complete 1 program information for fall and 1 program information for spring even though it’s the same program? A: If it is an academic year program, meaning it is a single program that runs both first and second semester (fall and spring sessions) then only one Individual Program Information form is required with the proposal application and the students only need to complete one scholarship application form. If you are offering a separate fall and spring programs, they must follow the date ranges outlined under General Information on page 8 of the Guidelines. Fall sessions must start after September 1 and end by December 31 and the Spring session must begin after January 1 and end by June 30.
Q: The individual form shows the session for two years. The budget that is created for each program and the campus proposal is only for one year. Correct?

A: The budget summary you submit is for one year and it is assumed that it will be the same for the second year. In addition to the Guidelines, you will find this explained on the Budget summary page of the proposal, just below the header. It says, “Calculate budget for ONE program year. The budget for the second year will be the same.”

Q: Can a bus be included to get students from a central location to campus? Can transportation costs be covered for vans taking students across campus?

A: The budget page indicates that transportation costs are not allowable. The language used indicates to and from student’s residence but the intent is that transportation to and from the campus for the program is unallowable. However, once a student is on campus field trip expenses are allowable and this could include a bus transportation to a field trip location. This is in the Instructional Cost section of the Budget page.

Q: Are administrative costs for planning and managing the program included?

A: Administrative costs such as salary and fringe can be considered part of the tuition. The statute does state the scholarship can cover tuition, books, supplies, and if applicable, room and board.

Q: In the past, the goals and objectives were listed as overall for the entire program. We are writing for five different programs. Do you want the goals and objectives to be specific to each individual program, or can each of those sections be the same, since the goals and objectives for the overall program is what is important?

A: We want separate goals and objectives for each individual program. You will write about the goals and objectives and the evaluation methods on the Individual Program Information form (PI-1574-A). The actual Proposal form (PI-1574) only requires an overview of the purpose of the program in the Abstract section.
Q: Would you be able to provide some clarification on whether or not indirect costs are considered an allowable cost for this proposal?

A: Indirect costs are not allowable in the DPI Precollege Scholarship Program. I was advised that many DPI state grants do not allow indirect costs. They went on to explain that because the scholarship program is for a sole purpose rather than broad application across a district, or in your case a postsecondary institution, indirect costs are not allowed.

 

Precollege Scholarship Program Timelines and Due Dates

Precollege Scholarship Program Session Date Ranges*

Summer

July 1 – August 31

Fall

September 1 – December 31

Spring

January 1 – June 30

Full Academic Year

September 1 – June 30

*All sessions must fall between these dates without overlap. If a spring session ends after June 30, scholarship reimbursement will be forfeited. 

Important Due Dates

Year One

Year Two

Activity

Date

Activity

Date

Summer Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of Program

Summer Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of Program

Summer Session Reimbursement claim

September 15, 2023

Summer Session Reimbursement claim

September 15, 2024

Fall Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of program

Fall Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of program

Fall Session Reimbursement claim

January 30, 2024

Fall Session Reimbursement claim

January 30, 2025

Spring Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of Program

Spring Session Verification of Enrollment and Scholarship Applications

Midpoint of Program

Spring Session Reimbursement claim

July 15, 2024

Spring Session Reimbursement claim

July 15, 2025

End-of-Year Evaluation Report

August 1, 2024

End-of-Year Evaluation Report

August 1, 2025

For more information on the application process, reimbursement procedures, and other grant requirements please refer to the grant guidelines document.