EXCEPTIONAL FINANCIAL NEED SCHOLARSHIPS
AND
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DISADVANTAGED HEALTH PROFESSIONS STUDENTS
With the passage of the Health Professions Extension Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-408), the administration of the Exceptional Financial Need Scholarship Program (EFN) and the Financial Assistance for Disadvantaged Health Professions Students Program (FADHPS) was identical, with one exception. FADHPS awards must be made to students who came from disadvantaged backgrounds.
With the current passage of the Health Professions Education Partnership Act of 1998, signed on November 13, 1998, the authority for the EFN/FADHPS programs were repealed. However, it provides funding for existing recipients of EFN and FADHPS scholarships who will continue to be enrolled after Academic Year 1998-99 as part of the amendments to the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program (Section 737(b)of the PHS Act). Brief histories of each program appear below.
The EFN Scholarship Program was established by the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976. The first awards were made in 1978.
Like the Health Professions Student Loan Program (HPSL)/Primary Care Loan (PCL) and the Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS), EFN program funds were provided to institutions directly from HHS based on an application submitted by the institutions. Institutions then distributed the funds according to program rules contained in statute, regulations and through Department of Health and Human Services guidance in other documents.
EFN scholarships underwent significant change with the enactment of the Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act of 1988 (P.L. 94-484). Prior to enactment, only first-year health professions students were eligible for EFN scholarships and awards provided grants that virtually covered the recipient's entire budget. With the passage of P.L. 94-484, the requirement restricting funds to first-year students was no longer in effect. Schools were then able to make awards for all or part of a student's total budget.
The FADHPS program began in 1987. Like EFN, FADHPS had been administered similarly to the HPSL/PCL and LDS programs. That is, institutions applied to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for FADHPS funds, which the schools then distributed to eligible students based on program rules contained in statute, regulations and other HHS documents.
Each school participating in the FADHPS program was responsible for selecting the recipients.
The Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998, which was signed into law on November 13, 1998, affected the EFN and FADHPS program as follows:
