A. The education of the Osage people is recognized as essential and the Osage Constitution mandates that the Nation develop educational programs that allow Osage students to obtain the resources necessary for a post-secondary education.

B. The purpose of this legislation is to authorize spending from the Osage Nation Higher Education Scholarship Fund to make higher education accessible to all qualifying Osage students, wherever located, based on institution classification and approximate actual cost charged by Oklahoma public institutions.

C. The expenditure is intended to provide Osage students the resources necessary to earn degrees, encourage academic achievement and enhance employment opportunities.

D. The Osage Nation Congress finds it is an important component of the Higher Education Scholarship Program to collect and analyze data for the purpose of improving the program and student achievement. ONCA 16-74, eff. July 21, 2016.