Guam § 28201 - Students Entitled to Merit Awards.

§ 28201. Students Entitled to Merit Awards.

(a) There are established annual merit awards for high

school students in the graduating classes of public and private

high schools licensed to do business on Guam, now or hereafter

established. The students entitled to these awards shall be the

students having the highest scholastic standing in the graduating

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classes of each such public and non-public high school on Guam.

The awards shall be determined as follows:

(1) One (1) for every fifty (50) graduates or a fraction

thereof of a school’s graduating class. If as a result of the

equal scholastic standing of two (2) or more graduates, there

is a tie for the awards granted pursuant to this Chapter, the

graduates’ respective school shall provide a mechanism to

break the tie. Awardees are entitled to four (4) years of

education at the University of Guam.

(2) All awards shall be subject to the following

limitations:

A recipient must be:

(A) a United States citizen, a permanent resident

alien, or a non-immigrant alien admitted into Guam

under the Compacts of Free Association between the

United States and the Federated States of Micronesia,

the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic

of Palau, who has completed a minimum of three (3)

but no more than four (4) academic years, and meets

all academic credit requirements for graduation during

attendance in a public, non-public, or DODEA high

school on Guam; and

(B) a resident of Guam for a continuous period of

not less than five (5) years immediately preceding June

15th of the year the award is to be given.

(3) To be eligible for a merit award, a student must

have achieved a cumulative high school grade point average

of not less than 3.0 or its equivalent at the time of

graduation.

(b) If any student is ineligible for an award because of

failure to meet the requirements contained in Subsection (a) of

this Section; or if any eligible student chooses not to accept an

award when first offered such award, the award shall be granted

to the eligible student with the next highest scholastic rank, or in

the case of a tie, the student that was eliminated by the tie-

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breaker. If an eligible student declines to accept an award when

first offered, the student may not accept the award after it has

been granted to another student. The recipient of a merit award

must notify the Board within thirty (30) days that the award is

accepted. Failure to notify the Board within thirty (30) days will

forfeit the award, and it shall be offered to the next alternate.

(c) A ward recipients must agree that the recipient will work

on Guam for a period of one (1) year for each academic year the

award was received within six ( 6) months following the

completion or termination of the course of study for which the

award was granted; provided, that if the recipient continues as a

full-time student at a graduate or professional school, such

recipient may defer work on Guam until such additional studies

are completed.

(d) A wards granted on or subsequent to the effective date

of this Section shall be cancelled if a recipient:

(1) fails to maintain a cumulative grade point average

of 3.0 or its equivalent, except that a recipient may be

allowed one (1) academic term to regain the required grade

point average without cancellation of the award; or

(2) fails to meet the academic and/or other

requirements governing full-time students at the University

of Guam, except that a recipient shall be allowed one (1)

academic term to regain full-time status before cancellation

of recipient’s award.