The student must satisfy eligibility criteria and maintain a minimum academic standard of an "A-" or 80% average over the preceding two years of study in order to qualify for the scholarship. Final decisions on the candidacy of each individual is made by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, which has agreements with some universities that use a Pass or Fail system, such as York University does for some of its non-graded courses in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. Selections are based on reports to the ministry by an advisory agency known as the Selection Board (Ontario Graduate Scholarship), which consists of a chairperson and eight members representing five broad disciplines of study. The board meets twice a year to evaluate candidate applications for the OGS.