"Although it's one-time money, we certainly hope that we'll be able to continue this program in future years," said Interim President Ray Kieft. "It's important that students know that the college is behind them 100 percent, and that we will do our best to reward them for outstanding academic accomplishments."

Kieft credits Natalie Lutes, interim vice president of administration and finance, for finding the one-time funds to give to the Office of Financial Aid. He also acknowledges the team work of Financial Aid Director Cindy Hejl; Michelle LeBoo, assistant director of scholarships; and Admissions Director Bill Hathaway-Clark to create the merit awards program, which is based on class standing, GPA and scholarship dollars already awarded. The students do not apply for the award; rather the Scholarship Center is determining which students qualify.

"There are a lot of students who are benefiting from this," said Hathaway-Clark, "Michelle found a way to really spread the dollars around."

Among the criteria is the stipulation that the recipients cannot already be receiving scholarships totaling $4,000 or more. They must be full-time degree-seeking students who do not hold a prior bachelor's degree and have a 90 percent completion rate at Metro. All the awards will be split equally between the fall '04 and spring '05 semesters to encourage students to continue.

The first disbursement was $1,000 each to 83 incoming freshmen who enrolled at Metro with a 3.5 high school GPA. "I wanted to select students who did well in high school, but who didn't get a large scholarship," said Hejl. "Michelle and I wanted to reward them for a job well done in high school."

The second group consists of 131 freshmen and sophomores who also will receive $1,000. These students must have completed between six and 59 credit hours and have a GPA of 3.9 or more.

The third disbursement is for $1,500 each to 106 juniors (60-89 credit hours) and a 3.9 GPA.

Lastly, 109 seniors (90+ credit hours) with 3.9 GPAs will receive $2,000 each.