USC will reinstate the Academic Achievement Award and Exceptional Funding, Provost Andrew Guzman confirmed in a letter to the Daily Trojan Monday afternoon, after weeks of community backlash and a petition to reinstate the AAA with thousands of signatures. The AAA will “remain in place with its present eligibility criteria, and Presidential and Trustee Scholars will continue to be eligible for Exceptional Funding,” Guzman wrote.

This newest update fully reinstates both the Academic Achievement Award and Exceptional Funding for all future students who meet the requirements for these awards.

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“We are committed to honoring the academic potential of all students, regardless of background or financial means,” Guzman wrote. “We will continue to work with all of our students to ensure they can meet their academic goals.”

This comes weeks after the Daily Trojan reported March 7 that the University would be shuttering the two programs, a change that USC announced only to academic advisors.

Students initially responded to these changes by creating a Change.org petition to reinstate the scholarship, which reached 2,960 signatures.

On March 15, the Office of Academic Programs announced in a compromise following student backlash that the AAA would see its eligibility extended to those graduating as late as August 2025. However, this did not quell students’ concerns about the AAA being canceled.

In the most recent Undergraduate Student Government meeting on March 19, senators called the University to reinstate AAA and Exceptional Funding, passing Senate Bill 143-30, which required USG to send a letter to University leadership about the programs. 

Reinstating the AAA and Exceptional Funding will allow future students to take more than four classes per semester toward their degree programs.

Valentina Navarro-Marsili, a sophomore majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting, said the AAA was in her course plan to pursue a double major. She currently uses the award, and said continued access to the scholarship is necessary to graduate on time.

“For me, it was the difference between [having] to go home and spend another summer working [or] pursuing internships in my field,” she said. “Now that AAA is back, I can pursue internships for my junior and senior year.” 

Chloé-Eloïse Mallet, a sophomore majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, said reinstating the AAA will allow her to complete her minor. 

“I was going to apply to it for next fall,” she said. “A lot of students depend on it to graduate in four years, because they can’t afford another semester.”

Despite excitement that the scholarship is being reinstated, Navarro-Marsili felt the University’s handling of the situation was not transparent. 

“Most students were getting updates because of the Daily Trojan,” she said. “To just remove the portal from the website without saying anything … felt a little backhanded.” 

Max Matthes, a freshman majoring in history, said he is still unsure about the University’s reaction. 

“I feel like cutting [the AAA] to begin with is very questionable,” he said. 

Matthes also said the University’s lack of transparency throughout this process was a problem. 

“I would like to see more information posted about the issue for students to look at,” he said. “I’m not going to get my hopes up until I see a plan of action.”

Although students were frustrated that the University discontinued these programs in the first place, the overall reaction to their reinstatement was positive.

“The way that students used their voices … was really inspiring and reflective of USC students as a community,” Navarro-Marsili said. “The response to the situation is reflective of the core of USC, which is students.”