MS HB343

Creates the Mississippi Community and Junior College Transfer Grant Program to provide financial assistance to students transferring from public community or junior colleges to public or private institutions of higher learning in Mississippi, beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year.

Requires eligible applicants to be U.S. citizens or legally present in the U.S., Mississippi residents, have earned an associate degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA, be Pell grant eligible, and be full-time undergraduate students pursuing a first baccalaureate degree in non-religious fields.

Awards $1,000 annually to eligible students, with an additional $1,000 per year for students majoring in engineering, mathematics, nursing, teaching, or science; grants limited to three academic years or 70 credit hours.

Requires grant recipients to maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA, make steady academic progress, remain full-time students, file FAFSA annually, and stay Mississippi residents; failure to maintain eligibility results in permanent discontinuation of the grant.

Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning administers the program; if funding is insufficient, grants awarded on a first-come, first-served basis with priority to current recipients maintaining academic progress.