Eligible students who applied for a scholarship will receive an email notification letting them know if they  will receive a scholarship award or are on the waitlist. Awards are given first to students whose family income is at or below the 200% Federal Poverty Level (FPL).  Next, are students whose family's income is between 200-555% FPL. Last, it is open to all Utah K-12 students regardless of family income. If there are not enough funds to award eligible students in an entire category, a randomized lottery system is used to select students to be awarded, this is done at the family application level, not an individual student level. 

ACE Scholarships follows Utah Code for the Utah Fits All program by keeping applicant siblings together, which means families are awarded for eligible students in their household. Please note: it is possible a family with multiple eligible students may only receive a limited number of scholarships if they are the last awarded family in the lottery.

NOW WHAT?

ALL FAMILIES: Whether you are waitlisted or have received a scholarship, every family is welcome to participate in our program by

• registering for the UFA newsletters
• joining UFA Lunch & Learn sessions
• attending UFA Webinars
• reading the UFA Family Handbook or help center articles.

These resources are meant to help families navigate their unique UFA educational choices or to prepare for next year's application.

WAITLISTED FAMILIES:

• Follow through with the educational plans you made for your student if they did not receive a UFA scholarship; every family should have an alternative plan in place. 
• If you are at the top of the waitlist, there is a possibility that you may be notified later that your student will be given a UFA scholarship this coming school year. Consider what that may look like if you choose to accept it after the school year has begun. 
• Stay involved! The UFA scholarship program will continue to grow each year and more students will be awarded scholarships.
• Be prepared to re-apply for next year. Applications will open earlier and since you already have an account, the process will be easier.

AWARDED STUDENTS: 

• Start planning for your scholarship student's education for the 2024-25 school year.
• Encourage eligible schools and providers to become a UFA qualifying provider. 
• UFA scholarship accounts will be funded no later than August 7, 2024. Approved expenses made after July 1st qualify for reimbursement.
• If you haven't already signed up for the UFA newsletter, be sure to do that today, so you can stay up-to-date on the information you need. 
• Be sure to register for UFA Lunch & Learn sessions and various webinars. We want to keep you informed and answer your questions.
• If you decide that you do not want to participate in the UFA scholarship program, you may withdraw your scholarship student at any time by visiting the ACE Access Portal. This is not a reversable or appealable decision. 

There are many reasons an account may be suspended. Suspended accounts require action from the scholarship parent in order to be resolved. Please read below for additional information on how to resolve a suspended account: 

Student is in a public district or public charter school OR Student is participating in the State Online Education Program (SOEP):

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) regularly provides ACE Scholarships with a list of students that according to their data, are listed as enrolled in schools or with education service providers that receive public funding. If you have received a notification that includes this reason code, it means that according to the roster provided by the USBE, your child is enrolled in a school or program that participates either fully or partially in the state’s public school initiative. According to UFA law, this impacts your account status.

If your child is attending a private school, please note that some private schools participate in public school programs, such as state testing, Utah online or the State Online Education Program, which can affect a student’s funding status.

To resolve this matter, we recommend working directly with your school, as well as any other schools your child may have attended, including the district if applicable. They will be best equipped to help clarify and  implement any changes related to the funding status.

Applicant ineligible due to out of state residency:

In order to be, and remain eligible to participate in the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, you and your scholarship student must be a resident of the state of Utah. If you have received a notification that includes this reason code, it means that ACE Scholarships has obtained information that you may not reside in Utah for primary residency. This does not apply to students of active military who are residence of Utah, and stationed elsewhere. 

To resolve this matter, we recommend filing an appeal by logging into your UFA Account and clicking "file an appeal." Please provide documentation that proves your Utah residency. 

Student graduated:

In order to be, and remain eligible to participate in the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, your scholarship student must be eligible to participate in public school, in kindergarten, or grades 1 through 12. This means your student has not graduated and is at least 5 years old or no more than 17 years old on or before September 1 of the year in which they are applying.

Students who qualify for special education may be no more than 21 years old on or before September 1 and who have not passed the eleventh grade. 

If you have received a notification that includes this reason code, it means that ACE Scholarships has obtained information that your scholarship student may no longer meet this requirement.  

To resolve this matter, we recommend filing an appeal by logging into your UFA Account and clicking "file an appeal." Please provide documentation that proves your students graduation status. 

Student received Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship or Carson Smith Legacy:

In order to be, and remain eligible to participate in the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, your scholarship student may not receive a scholarship under Carson Smith Scholarship Program or Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program.

If you have received a notification that includes this reason code, it means that ACE Scholarships has obtained information that your scholarship student may be receiving either the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship or the Carson Smith Legacy Scholarship.  

If you prefer to utilize one of these scholarship programs, we recommend withdrawing from the UFA Program by logging into your UFA Account and clicking "manage account."

If you prefer to utilize the UFA Program, we recommend that you file an appeal by logging into your UFA Account and selecting "file an appeal."

Intentional or substantial misuse of funds:

If you have received a notification that includes this reason code, it means that ACE Scholarships has obtained evidence of the intentional or substantial misuse of scholarship funds or other violation of the Utah Fits All Program, associated with the account established for your scholarship student. 

To resolve this matter, we recommend filing an appeal by logging into your UFA Account and clicking "file an appeal." Please provide documentation that demonstrates adherence with the terms of participation in the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, and allowable use of scholarship funds. 

Every post in the Unrulr app has 3 major components: visuals (usually pictures and videos), a caption, and COGS.

COGS stands for Concepts, Outcomes, Goals, and Skills. COGS are a powerful tool – they transform the way we both create and track evidence of learning. COGS connect learner posts to the core competencies or values of an education program.

The benefits of using COGS

COGS are special. When learners tag their posts, they are:

1. Building a sortable, filterable library of amazing things they’ve done
2. Self assessing, and setting the stage for peer and educator assessment
3. Creating a repository of experiences tracking some of the hardest-to-measure skills and values

Read more about COGS by clicking here to access a knowledge article. 

Here is a link to Board Rule277-604. This Board Rule outlines the parameters for scholarship students wishing to be administered an assessment by their LEA.  

Here is a step-by-step instructional video on how to post as a parent un Unrulr: 

UFA Parent Posting

The Short Version

The three basic levels of sharing are:

PRIVATE

Only visible to you.  Posts default to private (you have to actively make a selection to share with someone).

WITH A GROUP

Shared with a group you are a member of.  The two options are:

• Everyone in the group
• Only the members who have a Teacher role

PUBLIC

You can generate a url for a post which you can send to anyone you want to share your work with (even if they don't have an Unrulr account).

The Long Version

So you've captured an amazing moment of learning.  And now you want to post it.  But you want to know:

• Who, exactly, will see this amazing work?
• How do I control where the post is visible?

Let's break down the three levels of sharing in Unrulr.

Sharing: Private

This is private private.  As in, only you can see this.  Nobody else in the app, or in the world, will be able to see this without peering over your shoulder at the screen.  

If you're in Unrulr in a single group, you'll see a screen like this when you're posting something privately:

And if you're in more than one group, a post is private when it is "Not shared" with any group.  We'll let you know if it is with a message at the top of the screen:

Sharing: With a Group

The second level of sharing in Unrulr allows you to choose which groups, and who within a group, can see that delightful post you're building.  And we cheated a little here.  There are two different sub-levels of sharing within a group:

• Teachers only - only users with the role of teacher (see note on role names below) can see your post.  Other students will not be able to see the post.
• Teachers and Students - both teachers and students (everyone in the group) will be able to see your post.

Important Note: The role names (Teachers, Students), could be different, as those are set by the person or organization creating the group.

When you're in only one group, you'll see 3 options.  Pick the one which fits.

When you're in multiple groups, you can choose:

• Which group(s) you want to share with
• Who you want to share with in each group

For example: you could pick Teachers only in one group, Students & Teachers in another, and not share with your other groups.

Group Sharing Recap

Choose the people you want to share with, within a group:

• Teachers only
• Teachers and Students

Sharing: Making a Post Public

So you've made an awesome post, you've shared it with a group, and now you want to share it with the world?  

Amazing.

We love public exhibitions of learning, and when learners are proud of their work.

In this section we'll talk about two things:

1. How to make a post public, and how to let other people, who may not have an Unrulr account, view that post.
2. Common questions around publishing a post.

How to make a post public and share with others

This is actually super easy.  For a full breakdown, you can check our article on how to publish posts, but in brief you just:

1. Tap on the menu in a post header.
   
2. Tap the Publish to the Web button
   
   

Once you've published a post, we create a link which you can then share with anyone you'd like to see your post!  The flow started above leads to the window shown below, and you can then use the copy or the share buttons to share the link out.

Common questions about making a post public

Publishing things to the interwebs can be a little scary, especially when it involves students and learning.  Our goal is to help you understand how publishing a post works in Unrulr, so that you can make a better informed decision around when to publish something.

Q: When I publish something, does that mean random people will see it?

Publishing in Unrulr works similarly to Google Docs.  When you publish a post, we create a unique URL that is specific to that post.  And we don't list that URL anywhere except where we share it with you, the author.  That way, you control who can access the post, by deciding who to share it with.

That said, if you do put the link somewhere public, like on a blog or on social media, anyone who can see that link can also see your Unrulr post.  And if someone you share it with re-shares it, then that audience will also be able to see your post.

So, once you have a link, remember to think about who you share it with and where you share it.

Q: Do you anonymize public posts?

Yes and no :)

When we publish a post, we change all the names of the commenters to just their initials.  So Bob Bobberson becomes BB in the comment sections.  But we do not:

• Change the name of the author in the header (because that wouldn't make a lot of sense)
• Change/blur any people in the images or videos (because this is hard to do!)

So, be careful that when you share, you have permission to share.  Especially if any of the images or videos have peers or students in them. 

According to Utah State Board of Education rule 277-604, a parent of a Utah Fits All student may request their geographically assigned public district to administer an assessment to their student. Each local education agency (LEA) will have different policies and procedures regarding this request, therefore we encourage families to reach out to their local districts to inquire. 

Additionally, please find here a copy of the 2024-25 Assessment Resource Guide, which lists the assessments available, testing schedule, grade level and content area. 

Note: No assessment is required. The completion of an optional assessment under this section satisfies the portfolio eligibility qualification.

To remain eligible for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program law requires that a scholarship student submit either proof of the scholarship student’s completion of an assessment OR a portfolio, describing the scholarship student’s educational opportunities and achievements under the program for the given year. The scholarship parent may change their selection at any time.

Documentation of either the portfolio or proof of the administration of an assessment must be submitted for each scholarship student by June 30, 2025. View the Achievement Selection Presentation for more information.

NOTE: No assessment is required. The completion of an optional assessment under this section satisfies the portfolio eligibility qualification.

In order to remain eligible for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, the law requires that a scholarship student submit either proof of the scholarship student’s completion of an assessment OR a portfolio describing the scholarship student's educational opportunities and achievements under the program for the given year.

The scholarship parent may change their selection at any time. Documentation of either the portfolio or proof of the administration of an assessment must be submitted by June 30, 2025.

Please find additional information here in the UFA Achievement Selection Presentation

Note: No assessment is required. The completion of an optional assessment under this section satisfies the portfolio eligibility qualification.

You can apply for the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship (previously named the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship), or be already in the Carson Smith Legacy Scholarship Program (this program is no longer accepting applications), and still apply for a Utah Fits All scholarship. It is important to note that once you accept any of these scholarships you can only have one for the given school year. If you accept a scholarship from Carson Smith Opportunity Program you will no longer be able to accept the UFA Scholarship. You cannot switch scholarships in the middle of the year.  

It is possible to move backward on the waitlist.

For example: An application in the Tier 1 preference group can move back in the waitlist if an application ahead of them has multiple children on their application, one of which was initially determined ineligible. If the parent appeals, and student is determined eligible, they are then placed together with the other students from the same household or family application. Therefore, that reinstated student would take a waitlist number alongside their siblings, and potentially ahead of other Tier 1 families. 

Families will be notified if their student is awarded a scholarship, or placed on the waitlist by 12pm MT on Friday, May 3, 2024. 

Typically, student applications are withdrawn at the request of an applicant. However, during the application window, we understand that some families created a duplicate application for a student. This means that a parent applicant had more than one applications for a single student. 

In an effort to reduce confusion, and prevent applicants from receiving multiple notifications regarding the same student, duplicate applications have been withdrawn. In order to do so, we evaluate whether two student records contain the same first and last name, and date of birth. If this is the case, one record is withdrawn. 

ACE defaults to keeping the student application that is furthest along in the process. For example, if student record A is eligible, and student record B is processing, student record B (processing) is withdrawn, and student record A (eligible) is maintained.

If any of your student applications have been withdrawn, you will be able to view which student record has been withdrawn by logging into ACE Access and checking the status on your student tile. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Utah Fits All Customer Support Team at support@ufascholarship.com.

At this time, applicants are unable to edit their application once it has been submitted. However, there are a few ways to get us the information you need corrected. 

1. If you are requesting to edit information added about participation in Carson Smith Scholarship Program or the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship in the upcoming school year: This data is collected for information purposes only and does not impact a student's eligibility in the program. This is an opportunity to remind families that they may apply for all scholarships, but may only accept one. 

2. If you are requesting to edit information added about participation in public or charter school in the upcoming school year: This data is collected for information purposes only and does not impact a student's eligibility in the program. ACE Scholarships would like to gather information about how families may plan to spend their funds in the coming year. It's also an opportunity to remind families that their student may be enrolled in a public district or charter school at the time of application but, if awarded, must withdraw their student prior to the start of the 2024-25 school year. 

3. If you are requesting to edit student information like name, grade, DOB or social security number:  please submit a Parent Inquiry Form.  Please be sure to include all information in the required fields, and indicate the specific student for which the form is related to. In addition, please include the requested correction in the free form text box, and be sure to upload a copy of the student's birth certificate before submitting the form. 

4. If you are requesting to edit your student's birth certificate: Please submit a Birth Certificate Affidavit Form. We realize that you may be submitting this form due to reasons OTHER THAN missing the document, for instance you may uploaded the incorrect child's birth certificate. However, this is the best method of getting us the required information. You may select "other legal document" and upload the correct birth certificate. 

5. If you are requesting to edit income information, including documentation: Please submit an Income Verification Form. Be sure to complete all required fields, including uploading any and all income documentation you wish to include. You do NOT need to submit a separate form for each income earner, all documents may be uploaded into one form.  

If you are submitting income documentation for a dual income household, you will be asked whether you filed individually, or jointly. 

If you and your partner filed individually, there will be separate screens for uploading each income earner's income documents. Income documents for two separate people do not need to be submitted on the same screen. 

If you are filing jointly, and you have a form 1040, that will be sufficient, and you will not be prompted to upload any additional documentation, unless you indicate that you have received Disability or Social Security Benefits. In this case, you will be prompted to upload your awards letter. 

If you have added a student in error, either as a duplicate, or after realizing that the student would not be eligible to participate in the program due to age or Utah residency, you may withdraw the student record. 

Assuming you have completed and submitted your application, you can do this by logging back into the application.  At the Home Page under the heading that reads, "Welcome Back [name]" you will see boxes with the names of each of your students.  Click on the "Manage Scholarship" option for the record you'd like to remove.  You will then be presented with two options, "View Student Details" and "Withdraw Application".  Choose "Withdraw Application".  You will then be taken to a form where you will be asked to choose between several options to explain the reason you are withdrawing the application.  If the entry was a duplicate, choose the "Other" option, enter "Duplicate student application" in the text box, then press "Withdraw".  That will remove the student record from consideration without impacting your other students.   Attached is a document showing screenshots of this process.

If you have submitted your application, but forgot to add a student, you can do so by completing the Parent Inquiry Form found in our help center. Please complete all required fields, indicating "yes" when asked if this form was related to a specific student.  In the free form text box, please also include your student's age and social security number (this is an optional entry). Please be sure to upload a copy of the student's birth certificate. 

If you do not have a copy of the student's birth certificate, you will need to complete the Birth Certificate Affidavit Form and upload one of the acceptable alternative documents. 

Returning scholarship students are awarded the UFA scholarship in the first enrollment preference the following year. Income information will not be requested of returning students. However, we will ask an awarded scholarship student to renew their participation in the program. This means that the parent will need to confirm their desired participation for the upcoming school year and only re-validate Utah residency and their students K-12 eligibility.  Families will also need to demonstrate they have met the reporting requirement by completing a portfolio or having an approved examination administered to their scholarship student. 

Only one application per student may be submitted. Divorced parents will ideally agree on who is applying on behalf of the student. If there is more than one application for a single student, it will be flagged in our system and the parent who claims the student on their taxes will be the one permitted to apply for that student.

No, the UFA Program offers $8,000 of tax-free scholarship funds to eligible students.  

Yes, there is an application window for eligible students. Applications for students opened on February 28, 2024, and will close April 22, 2024.  You can find the application here.

Students are eligible for the UFA Scholarship if they are:

1. a K-12 student who is eligible to participate in a public school (to be eligible for kindergarten, a student must be at least five years old and no more than 18 years old on or before September 1 of the year in which admission is sought. With regard to special education, a student must not be older than 21 on July 1. Students who have graduated from high school or another secondary program are ineligible.
2. a resident of the state of Utah, including a child of a military service member, as defined in Section 53B-8-102.
3. a student not receiving the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship at the same time as the UFA scholarship.
4. not enrolled in an LEA or in the Statewide Online Education Program (SOEP) upon receiving the scholarship.
5. not suspended or disqualified from the UFA program, and who completes, to maintain eligibility, the assessment or portfolio requirement.

Yes. Students of active-duty military are eligible to participate. The family may be stationed in Utah but live elsewhere. Additionally, Utah may be their state of legal residence and they are stationed elsewhere. Relevant documentation will be collected at the time of application. 

Application information will only be viewed by parties necessary to complete the application verification and approval process, which includes the ACE Scholarships Utah Fits All customer support team. 

No. Income verification is not required to determine eligibility for the UFA Program.

It's important to note that an applicant is not required to provide any income verification information, with the understanding they will be placed in the last enrollment preference category. There are a couple of ways that any applicant may manually bypass income verification. First, after verifying the applicant's identity, the system will also be able to verify whether an applicant is receiving other forms of government assistance, such as SNAP or TANF. If this is the case, the applicant will bypass income verification and the eligible students will be placed in the first enrollment preference category once the application is submitted. 

The applicant will also have the option to manually “continue” or “skip income verification” on the initial screen for income validation. If the applicant chooses to skip, they will see a screen reminding them that the application will be placed in the last enrollment preference category. If they choose to proceed, they will bypass income verification. 

The second chance to bypass is when the applicant is prompted to enter their household size. Based on the calculation of a total household income of 555%, the applicant will be asked if their household income exceeds this figure. If the applicant chooses “yes,” they are attesting that their income places them in the last enrollment preference category, and no further income information is collected. 

There is no limitation on how long an applicant must be a resident of Utah. You may apply with a valid Utah state driver's license, passport, alternative photo ID, residency permit card or temporary visa.  

In the instance where you do not have a Form 1040 from 2023, you may upload a Form W2, Form 1099, a Disability Award Letter or a Social Security Award Letter. You may also link directly to your employer's payroll provider. 

No, we do not require any additional information during the application period for a student who requires special education. If an awarded scholarship student with disabilities wishes to use scholarship funds to pay for educational services or therapies related to your student’s diagnosis, you may be asked to produce your student’s IEP, Service Plan or a written note from your student’s treating physician to validate the expense. The disability indicated must be education related and affect the acquisition of knowledge or skills.

These would include services provided by a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider including occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, physical therapy, audiology or speech-language therapy.