NEW ALBANY — A few students at IU Southeast will save a chunk of change on their tuition thanks to a new scholarship.

The Student Alumni Association will award 10 $1,000 scholarships — six students from each of the university’s schools and four student athletes — for the 2012-2013 school year.

Jerry Wayne, vice chancellor for alumni and community affairs, said offering more opportunities for students to pay for school is one of the missions of the Alumni Association.

“We’re very excited about it,” Wayne said. “We feel like this is the kind of work that’s the primary goal of the Alumni Association. We want to continue to graduate those students, make our community better and that’s what IUS has been doing for 70 years.”

Qualifying candidates must have a relative who is a member of the IUS Alumni Association and must be a member of the Student Alumni Association. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is also required.

Wayne said some universities limit similar scholarships to students who have a mother or father who is a member of their alumni association, but IU Southeast wanted to open it up to more candidates.

“One of the main purposes behind this is to generate awareness and let our members of the Alumni Association know that their family members are eligible because of their membership,” Wayne said.

He said there are several ways the association will seek out candidates. Students could sign up for the scholarship at the university’s Financial Aid offices, or deans of each school may seek out students who qualify.

Student athletes may also receive the scholarship. Wayne said giving more opportunities to those students may improve the quality of athletes coming into the school, giving it a better chance of entering for bigger titles.

The scholarship is also recurring. Wayne said the association will continue to generate money to fund the scholarship year after year.

“Our intent is to generate the funds to be able to support this year after year,” Wayne said. “We have a scholarship fund that spends off revenue we have for the athletic department. But these dollars are coming from various means of generating dollars.”

For more information about the scholarship, or to apply, students may also go to the financial aid website at www.ius.edu/financialaid.