Guidelines for the Ritter Communications Endowed Scholarship

The Ritter Communications Scholarship Endowment shall be administered in the best-constituted practices used in institutions of higher learning. The scholarship program shall be established as an academic scholarship under accepted guidelines of the Department of Financial Aid at Arkansas State University.  A demonstrated work ethic is a consideration in making the award, and the recipient shall be selected based on the following criteria:

• Must have attained senior status (90 hours of completed coursework or more)  by the end of the term in which the scholarship application is made
• Must be working toward a degree in either Management Information Systems (MIS) or Computer & Information Technology (CIT)
• Must have chosen an emphasis (either formal or informal) in Telecommunications
• Must either
  • Be working a minimum of 20 hours per week and enrolled in a minimum of nine hours working toward her/his degree in MIS or CIT, or
  • Be enrolled in at least 12 hours of coursework leading toward her/his degree in MIS or CIT
• Must have completed at least nine credit in MIS or CIT coursework with at least three hours focusing on Telecommunications (e.g., networking)

The scholarship (currently $500) will be awarded for one year with endowment proceeds distributed equally over two semesters. A senior who has been awarded the scholarship and has maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average in her/his major  may reapply for the scholarship for a second year.

Scholarship recipients are automatically considered for internship opportunities with Ritter Communications, although the receipt of the scholarship does not require participation in an internship.

The College of Business Scholarship Committee will make the annual selection. The president of Ritter Communications Company may act in an advisory capacity to the committee.

Interested students should complete the "Privately Funded Scholarship" application, a PDF file available online through Financial Aid's "Scholarship Application Information" page (http://finaid.astate.edu/appinfo.shtml).  The application is available also in hardcopy through the College of Business Dean's Office.  That form, along with a copy of your current transcript, will need to be submitted to the Financial Aid office in the Student Union.  Since the CIT faculty will be reviewing applications for the Ritter Scholarship, and it would be helpful also for a copy of your application to be submitted to any CIT faculty member.