(a) Subject to available funding for this program, the department will publish a notice of fund availability and request for applications, which will include all necessary details about the program and application requirements.
(b) To be eligible to participate in the competition, an application must be coordinated and submitted by the sponsor on behalf of the individual being nominated. The application must be on the forms and in a format prescribed by the department.
(c) The department will review each application for completeness and eligibility. Only those applications that meet the eligibility requirements for recognition are then evaluated and ranked by the selection committee.
(d) The selection committee will select outstanding rural scholars based on the following criteria:
  (1) the student's academic achievements;
  (2) an essay written by the student discussing the student's reasons for entering the competition, the health care degree or program the student is pursuing, the student's reasons for pursuing the chosen health care profession, and the student's reasons for wanting to provide health care to rural Texans;
  (3) sponsor financial commitment;
  (4) community statement of need;
  (5) standardized test scores; and
  (6) the overall quality of the nominee.
(e) The selection committee shall rank the students and inform the department of its selections.

Source Note: The provisions of this §30.143 adopted to be effective January 1, 2015, 39 TexReg 10395