State administrative rules grant exemptions to continuous enrollment requirements for specific reasons. In addition, rules allow the Executive Director of the Board of Regents to grant other exceptions or to waive the requirements when good cause is shown. As a result, when a situation arises that hinders a student from meeting the continuing eligibility requirements for the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship, he/she has the opportunity to request an exemption waiver from the Executive Director. Exemption waivers can be granted for student inability to meet Credit Hour, Grade Point Average, or Persistence requirements. Furthermore, instances have and will continue to occur that represent unique situations where the Executive Director has granted a waiver to ensure that student interests and the intent of the scholarship program are best served. In addition to these three waiver classifications, five justifications have been attributed to student appeals for exemptions from the Executive Director that include:

Students seeking an Executive Director exemption can do so by sending an email to Dr. Paul Turman (pault@sdbor.edu) for processing. Prior to submitting a request, students are encouraged to review the Exemption Guidelines to ensure that they include all information necessary for expedient request processing.