The University of Minnesota - Water Resources Center’s Onsite Sewage Treatment Program (OSTP) is pleased to provide a scholarship opportunity to cultivate onsite wastewater professionals across our industry in Minnesota. The OSTP, starting with Roger Machmeier, has long believed and supported the importance of educating onsite wastewater professionals in Minnesota and beyond using the common phrases Keep it simple (KISS), Keep it natural (KINN) and Keep it level (KILL). To honor this strong educational philosophy and pay it forward – we proudly announce the Keep It Going (KIGG) scholarship!
KIGG scholarship recipients will be awarded waived registration fees for select OSTP workshops. We award a maximum of 2 scholarships per Certification workshop topic (listed below) for a total of up to ten awards. This is an annual scholarship with details announced each year with our educational workshop brochure/schedule. This award will cover registration expense only (any required manuals, supplies, lodging, etc. are the responsibility of the applicant). The KIGG scholarship committee reserves the right to review all submitted application materials, determine eligibility and award scholarships for education courses offered by the OSTP.
If you missed the announcement, application deadline or applied but were not awarded a scholarship, the OSTP plans to offer the KIGG scholarship annually. While details might change as we review and receive feedback, this opportunity will continue into the future.
Rules
- Applicant must have completed the OSTP Certification workshop: Introduction to Onsite Systems and passed MPCA Introduction exam.
- Applicant must be seeking a new SSTS certification (new to SSTS or a new SSTS specialty area of certification).
- Applicant can only be awarded scholarship once.
- Applicant must complete the entire scholarship application to be considered.
- Applicant must accept the notice of award to obtain waived registration fees.
- KIGG scholarship application must be completed and submitted by the deadline.
- KIGG scholarship is not available for Continuing Education Credits.
Applicants may apply for up to two of the following U of M OSTP educational Certification workshops
Note that each applicant must have passed MPCA exam Introduction to Onsite Systems before applying. Any additional requirements are noted below.
- Installing Onsite Systems
- Maintaining Onsite Systems
- Service Provider
- Basic Design of Onsite Systems
- Inspecting Onsite Systems
- Intermediate Design and Inspection of Onsite Systems
- Must be a certified Basic Designer or certified Basic Inspector before applying
- Advanced Design and Inspection of Onsite Systems
- Must be a certified Intermediate Designer or certified Intermediate Inspector before applying
A three-year summary (2024-2026)
We have received a total of 39 applications in our first three years of our scholarship’s existence from all regions across Minnesota.
- 30 applicants were current professionals looking to expand their knowledge and services to the wastewater industry in Minnesota
- 9 applicants were new to the wastewater industry
- Applicants have expressed interest in all seven SSTS knowledge and certification areas offered through our scholarship program
- We have awarded a total of 29 scholarship courses to 23 unique individuals