2023 Annual Scholarship Report - Academic Career & Technical Education North Dakota

Oct 15, 2026

2023 Annual Scholarship Report details state merit-based awards for Academic, Career & Technical Education (CTE), and the new North Dakota Scholarship. The report explains how high school students can earn up to $6,000 by meeting curriculum, GPA, and test-score requirements, and how eligibility and disbursement rules apply. It summarizes participation and outcomes since inception, including total qualified students, distribution across institution types, average awards, retention impacts, and biennium disbursement forecasts under amended legislative changes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Report Summary

Program Overview

Program Administration

Disbursement Requirements

Eligibility Requirements

Disbursements & Appropriations

Distribution of Scholarship Awards

Scholarship Usage and Student Retention

2023 Annual Scholarship Report Academic Career & Technical Education North Dakota November 2023 600 E Boulevard Department 215 Bismarck, North Dakota 58505‐0230 [Website: www.ndus.edu](Website: www.ndus.edu) Table of Contents REPORT SUMMARY 1 PROGRAM OVERVIEW 2 PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION 3 DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS 3 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 5 DISBURSEMENTS & APPROPRIATIONS 6 DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS 7 SCHOLARSHIP USAGE AND STUDENT RETENTION 8 Report prepared by Brenda Zastoupil, NDUS Financial Aid Director Report Summary The Academic Scholarship, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Scholarship, and the new North Dakota Scholarship are state merit-based awards aimed at increasing high school rigor and retaining students within North Dakota for postsecondary education. High school students can receive up to $6,000 under one of the scholarship programs by completing specific high school curriculum and fulfilling grade point average, and test score requirements. This annual report provides detailed information about these scholarships since inception. 􀂾 A total of 23,460 students have qualified for one of the three state scholarships. [Table 2] 􀂾 Twenty-three percent of seniors have qualified for the scholarship since 2018. Twenty-one percent of seniors have qualified since inception. [Table 2] 􀂾 North Dakota students have received over $81.2 million in scholarship disbursements. [Chart 1] o Disbursements have been provided to all institution types in North Dakota, with the majority of payments issued to NDUS research universities and 4-year universities (76%) . Two-year NDUS colleges, private institutions, career and technical education colleges, and tribal colleges account for the remaining 24% . o Since inception, 20,879 (89%) of students have received at least one payment of the scholarship. This equates to an average of $3,891 per recipient. 􀂾 The average amount disbursed for the first five cohorts was $5.7 million. The subsequent five cohorts’disbursements averaged $7.3 million. This reflects the increased usage of the scholarship awards. [Chart 1] 􀂾 Awards of the CTE Scholarship have outpaced the Academic Scholarship the past four years. Of qualifying recipients, 55% received the Academic Scholarship and 45% received the CTE Scholarship since inception. Just under 1% of students have earned the new North Dakota Scholarship since it was first awarded in the 2022-23 academic year. [Chart 2] 􀂾 Of the 23,460 eligible students since inception, o 8,556 (36%) still have remaining scholarship eligibility; o 6,786 (29%) have been paid in full at $6,000; o 8,118 (35%) have lost scholarship eligibility due to not maintaining a 2.75 GPA or not fully utilizing the award within 6 years of high school graduation. [Chart 4] 􀂾 Disbursements in the 2023-25 biennium are expected to be $15.8 million, which is a 4% increase over the prior biennium. [Table 3] 􀂾 Since inception, $96.1 million has been appropriated to this scholarship program, which includes a $2.5 million transfer from the ND State Grant to cover a shortfall in the 2019-21 biennium. [Table 3] 􀂾 Scholarship recipients are retained in ND at a higher rate than non-scholarship recipients following highschool graduation. [Chart 5 and Table 4] Program Overview The Academic and Career & Technical Education (CTE) Scholarships have been awarded to ND high school graduates since the 2010-11 academic year. Beginning with the 2022 high school graduates, the new North Dakota Scholarship, which is closely aligned to Choice Ready, was also awarded. Beginning with the 2025 highschool graduates, only the new North Dakota Scholarship criteria will be used to determine eligibility for the award. The scholarships are designed to increase high school rigor and retain students within North Dakota for postsecondary education. Specific high school curriculum, grade point average, and testing score requirements are required t

FAQs

What scholarships are covered in the 2023 Annual Scholarship Report?

The report covers the Academic Scholarship, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Scholarship, and the new North Dakota Scholarship.

How can students qualify for a scholarship award?

Students must complete specific high school curriculum and meet grade point average and testing score requirements, then apply through the ND Department of Public Instruction.

What is the purpose of retaining scholarship recipients within North Dakota?

The program is designed to increase high school rigor and retain students for postsecondary education in North Dakota, and the report highlights higher retention rates for scholarship recipients compared with non-recipients after graduation.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan