2024 Annual Scholarship Report - North Dakota Academic Career & Technical Education Scholarship

Oct 15, 2026

2024 Annual Scholarship Report outlines state merit-based scholarships supporting North Dakota high school graduates through postsecondary retention. The report describes scholarship purpose, eligibility and disbursement requirements, award distribution, and how academic performance and timely use of funds affect continued eligibility. It summarizes participation trends since inception, including qualified student counts, disbursement totals, cohort averages, and appropriations, and compares Academic versus CTE scholarship uptake over recent years.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 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

2024 Annual Scholarship Report North Dakota Academic Career & Technical Education August 2024 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 2 DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS 2 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 4 DISBURSEMENTS & APPROPRIATIONS 5 DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS 6 SCHOLARSHIP USAGE AND STUDENT RETENTION 7 Report prepared by Brenda Zastoupil, NDUS Financial Aid Director Report Summary The Academic Scholarship, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Scholarship, and the 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 25,257 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 $84.9 million in scholarship disbursements. [Chart 1] o Since inception, 20,922 (83%) of students have received at least one payment under the scholarship. This equates to an average of $4,057 per student. 􀂾 The average amount disbursed for the first six cohorts was $6 million. The subsequent six cohorts’disbursements averaged $7.1 million. This reflects the increased usage of the scholarship awards. [Chart 1] 􀂾 Awards of the CTE Scholarship have outpaced the Academic Scholarship the past five years. Of qualifying recipients, 54% received the Academic Scholarship and 46% received the CTE Scholarship since inception. Just under .54% of students have earned the North Dakota Scholarship since it was first awarded in the 2022-23 academic year. [Chart 2] 􀂾 Of the 25,257 eligible students since inception, o 8,662 (34%) still have remaining scholarship eligibility; o 7,469 (30%) have been paid in full at $6,000; o 9,126 (36%) 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 North Dakota Scholarship, which is closely aligned to Choice Ready, was also awarded. Beginning with the 2025 high school graduates, only the North Dakota Scholarship eligibility criteria will be used to determine eligibility for the award. Current Academic and CTE scholarship recipients will continue to be eligible for payment until 2030 when the last cohort reaches 6 years after high school graduation. 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 to earn these merit-based scholarships. The program is authorized in N. D.C.C. § 15.1-21-02.4 through 15.1-21-02.10. Students who meet the requirements and who

FAQs

What scholarships are covered in the 2024 Annual Scholarship Report?

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

What key requirements determine eligibility for the scholarships?

Eligibility depends on completing required high school curriculum and meeting grade point average and test score requirements, then applying through the ND Department of Public Instruction.

How long do recipients have to use the scholarship funds?

Recipients have up to 6 years after high school graduation to fully use the scholarship at a qualifying North Dakota institution.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan