The chancellor of higher education shall establish a competitive process for making awards under the choose Ohio first scholarship program. The chancellor, on completion of that process, shall make a recommendation to the controlling board asking for approval of each award selected by the chancellor.

Any state university or college may apply for an award under the program. The state university or college shall submit a proposal and other documentation required by the chancellor, in the form and manner prescribed by the chancellor. A proposal may propose an initiative to be implemented solely by the state university or college or in collaboration with other state institutions of higher education, nonpublic Ohio universities or colleges, or other public or nonpublic Ohio entities.

The chancellor shall determine which proposals will receive awards each fiscal year, and the amount of each award, on the basis of the merit of each proposal, which the chancellor, subject to approval by the controlling board, shall determine based on the extent to which a proposal recruits underrepresented populations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or science, technology, engineering, or mathematics education, along with one or more of the following criteria:

(A) The quality of the program that is the subject of the proposal and the extent to which additional resources will enhance its quality;

(B) The extent to which the proposal is integrated with the strengths of the regional economy;

(C) The extent to which the proposal is integrated with the university’s or college’s mission and does not displace existing resources already committed to the mission;

(D) The extent to which the university or college has committed to, or demonstrated, an increase in total graduates within the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or science, technology, engineering, or mathematics education, consistent with a goal to increase the total number of Ohio residents in the workforce who are highly qualified in these disciplines;

(E) The extent to which the proposal meets a statewide educational need;

(F) The extent to which the proposal facilitates the completion of an associate or a baccalaureate degree in a cost-effective manner, for example, by facilitating students’ completing two years at a two-year institution and two years at a state university or college;

(G) The extent to which the proposal encourages students to complete a certificate program at a state university or college.