Rule 4701-17-03 | Education assistance program objectives and scope.
(A) The objectives of the education assistance program are:
(1) To increase engagement with high school and college students, non-traditional students, and members of economically disadvantaged groups to increase awareness of public accounting as a career option;
(2) To create and implement workforce development and attraction programs specific to the public accounting profession;
(3) To provide scholarships to students attending a college or university in this state who are citizens of the United States or who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act;
(4) To provide financial assistance to individuals who meet educational requirements to sit for the uniform CPA examination for associated costs, including study materials for the uniform CPA examination and examination fees to take or for one re-take of the uniform CPA examination;
(5) To defray administrative costs incurred in carrying out the purposes of the education assistance programs described in this chapter, and those incurred in undertaking a biennial financial audit.
(B) To accomplish the objectives of the education assistance program, and per the contract required by division (B) of section 4701.26 of the Revised Code, the contractor must provide the following information:
(1) Detailed descriptions of how the contracting organization has or will create and implement programming, including defining parameters of such programming, descriptions of programming content, target population(s), outcome objectives, and reporting of outcomes for each program;
(2) Detailed descriptions of how the contracting organization has or will create and implement workforce attraction programs specific to the public accounting profession, including defining the parameters of any such programming, and descriptions of programming;
(3) Detailed implementation plans for all funded programs that provide financial assistance and examination preparation materials to students preparing to sit for the CPA examination, including qualification metrics, limitations on assistance, and reporting of outcomes;
(4) The requirements and per-person award amounts for its scholarship program;
(5) Detailed information demonstrating sufficient operational capacity to manage fund activities, including adequate facilities, technical support, financial stability, and staffing resources needed to implement and manage programming in accordance with approved requirements and timelines;
(6) A comprehensive budget detailing implementation, operations, audit costs, and adherence to a methodology that limited administrative costs to no more than thirty per cent of the total allocation. The contractor shall maintain a dedicated financial structure to sequester education assistance funds;
(7) Methodologies used to maintain complete records of funded programs in a manner that will facilitate open communication and accurate data analysis by the board, and how those methodologies accurately evaluate programs funded completely or in part by the education assistance program;
(8) Methodologies used to evaluate, modify, and re-allocate or return education program assistance program funding for programs that fail to meet criteria set by the board;
(9) Methodologies used to demonstrate quantitatively how the implemented workforce attraction program(s), scholarship program, and other CPA examination assistance programs directly resulted in a net positive outcome in the number of program participants sitting for the CPA examination.
Last updated January 5, 2026 at 8:01 AM
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