State Scholarship Renewal Criteria

Please read all sections carefully as all details are important. This information applies to students who entered Hendrix prior to 2018.

Governor's Distinguished Scholarships

Governor's Distinguished Scholarships are awarded for one year and will be renewed for up to three years (four years total) if the following eligibility requirements are met. GDS recipients are required to select on-campus housing (double occupancy residence hall room) and unlimited meal plan to receive the Hendrix matching GDS scholarship. The student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The student must complete seven Hendrix courses (three Hendrix courses the first semester and four Hendrix courses the second semester) during the first academic year. This only includes the fall and spring terms. After the first semester of college, the student must enroll in four Hendrix courses to receive the funds. After the first year of college the student must complete eight Hendrix courses each of the subsequent academic years.

• Student performance is reported to the state at the end of the spring semester each year by the Office of Financial Aid.
• If the student’s performance is below the renewal criteria, the student can take summer courses in order to meet the previous year’s renewal criteria. The student will be responsible for reporting summer grades to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE). The student can contact ADHE at (501) 371-2000 if further assistance is needed on summer class reporting. (NOTE: The student should contact the Hendrix College Office of the Registrar to see if the summer course will transfer to Hendrix and confirm with both the registrar and ADHE on exactly what summer units and grades are necessary to restore eligibility.)
• There is no appeal process.
• If the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship is lost, the additional Hendrix funding or matching benefit will be lost.

Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships

The Arkansas Academic Challenge renewal policy* is the same as Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship with two exceptions: the GPA renewal requirement is a 2.50 and there is not another scholarship to replace it if any requirements are not met.

*Click here to view rules and regulations from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education regarding continuing eligibility requirements for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship.