Arkansas
Society of CPAs Student Education Fund Scholarships
Criteria,
Requirements and Information for Schools and Applicants
General
Purpose
The
Student Education Fund Scholarship Program of the Arkansas Society of Certified
Public Accountants is to provide support and encouragement to accounting majors
at four-year Arkansas colleges and universities who intend to become CPAs; to
encourage the involvement of the faculty at those institutions in the Arkansas
Society of CPAs; and provide access to the profession for scholarship winners by
awarding student memberships in the Arkansas Society of CPAs.
The
Arkansas Society of CPAs Student Education Fund is supported entirely by
contributions. It is a non-profit
corporation, and gifts to the Student Education Fund are tax deductible.
Securities and any other property, as well as cash, may be contributed.
Eligibility
Requirements
-
Applicants must be accounting students who have completed 84 semester hours of coursework including 15 semester hours of accounting (including Principles).
-
The student must have a 3.5 GPA (on a 4-point scale) in accounting coursework.
-
The applicant may be pursuing an undergraduate accounting degree (or its equivalent) or may have graduated and be completing additional coursework to accumulate 150 credit hours.
-
The applicant must certify that he/she is pursuing the requirements to sit for the CPA Exam and does intend to pursue the CPA professional certification.
Availability
of Scholarships
Each
accounting department of an Arkansas four-year college or university offering an
accounting degree shall be allowed to submit one (1) scholarship application for
each qualifying faculty member who is a regular member in good standing
of the Arkansas Society of CPAs. The
accounting department may decide how to determine which applications are
submitted. (For example, the accounting department may allow each faculty member
who is a Society member to determine individually whose application is
submitted. Or a department might
allow its students to apply to the department and decide from those applications
which one(s) should be forwarded to the Arkansas Society of CPAs Student
Education Fund Board.)
When
a department submits its application(s), it must provide a numerical ranking (1,
2, etc.) of the applicants. The
determination of this ranking is left to the discretion of the department.
Failure to submit the ranking may disqualify applications forwarded from
that department.
Amount
and Duration of Scholarships
The
Arkansas Society of CPAs Student Education Fund Board shall determine each year
the maximum amount of scholarships that may be awarded, and shall determine the
number and amount of scholarships to be awarded.
The
maximum amount of scholarships awarded to any single applicant shall not exceed
$2,000.
The
scholarships may be awarded for the fall semester only or for both the fall and
subsequent spring semesters.
The
Arkansas Society of CPAs Student Education Fund Board will determine whether to
disburse the scholarships through the student’s college or university or
directly to the student.
Each
scholarship winner shall also be awarded a one-year student membership in the
Arkansas Society of CPAs.
Scholarships
will be awarded on the basis of academic achievement, professional promise, and
other factors considered significant by the Board.
Scholarships
will be awarded without regard to age, gender, race, creed, religion, ethnic or
national origin, or sexual orientation.
Application
Process
A
scholarship application must contain the following: Completed application form,
required supporting documents to include a current resume, an academic
transcript that is current through the previous fall semester; two letters of
recommendation and other documents that the applicant may wish to submit.
Incomplete
applications without required documents, or those received by the ASCPA after
the deadline of
February 10th
will not be considered.
Once
submitted, applications and required supporting documents cannot be returned.
The Arkansas Society of CPAs Student Education Fund Board will review scholarship applications at its annual meeting in February, and will announce the scholarship recipients in March.