By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

Longer hours, less sleep. But at the end of the day, the result is rewarding.

Sound like tax time for an accountant?

Well, yes. It's also Scholarship Recognition Program time for Fort Hays State University.

FHSU President Edward H. Hammond on Monday awarded thousands of dollars of scholarships to approximately 100 seniors from the Hays area who are planning to attend the university next fall.

The event in the Memorial Union marked the seventh on a list of 13 SRPs that Hammond and other FHSU personnel attend each year. The first SRP was Jan. 15 in Garden City, and the final one is scheduled for March 5 in Colby.

In between, the FHSU entourage covers a lot of miles across the state, and even into Nebraska and Colorado.

"We find out every year it is really worth doing," said Kent Steward, director of FHSU's University Relations, "not only for you, but for us ... to see if we can get answers to whatever questions you might have."

The awards given out Monday ranged from the $1,200 Miller Black and Gold Academic Award that is renewable provided students maintain the minimum required academic standing, to the $500 Copper one-time award. Some students also received the $2,000 Presidential Scholarship, given to those who scored at least a 30 on their ACT.

Transfer students also can earn a $1,000 one-time scholarship, and high school seniors also received Academic Opportunity Awards of either $500 or $900, given out by individual FHSU departments of study.

Daron Jamison, a 2003 graduate of FHSU, told students in attendance he probably was like some of them while growing up in the 1980s and '90s in Quinter.

"Fort Hays State had always been a fabric of my life," he said. "And when I graduated from high school, I was ready to get out of town."

Jamison told how he did get away and chose a private school in central Kansas. After one semester, he returned home.

Jamison went on to build an impressive resume at Fort Hays. President of the FHSU Student Government Association his senior year, Jamison is the only student to ever receive the prestigious President's Award at FHSU, awarded for outstanding contributions to the institution.

The 31-year-old Jamison, now married and the father of three young children, is project manager at Nex-Tech Wireless in Hays.

He said he owes his success to opportunities he experienced at Fort Hays.

"I was in an environment big enough to have a lot of doors opened for me," Jamison said. "But Fort Hays is small enough to tailor an educational experience to meet very student's needs.

"I feel like I got a really good education, and I got it at a price point that wasn't over-burdensome," he said in reference to steep loans many students incur while in college.

Hammond showed in a PowerPoint presentation why FHSU, the fastest growing institution in the Kansas Regents system, is considered the most affordable.

Enrollment at FHSU has more than doubled since 2000, when 5,800 students were enrolled, to 13,000 at the end of last semester.

FHSU's annual tuition, based on 15 hours per semester -- is $4,082. Tuition at schools comparable in size, such as Pittsburg State and Emporia State, is $5,162 and $4,952, respectively. The highest tuition of Regents institution is $9,222 at the University of Kansas and $7,657 at Kansas State University.

"We thought, 'You can charge your customers more or you can serve more people,' " said Hammond, who said Fort Hays chose the latter.

"Every decision we make is based on one principle," said Hammond, who will celebrate his 25th anniversary at Fort Hays later this year. "The students' success."