N.Y. Education Law § 667-d: Enhanced tuition awards

§ 667-d. Enhanced tuition awards. 1. Recipient qualifications. a.

Establishment. Enhanced tuition awards are available for students who

are enrolled in approved programs in private degree granting

institutions of higher education except those institutions set forth in

paragraph b of subdivision four of section six hundred sixty-one of this

part and who demonstrate the ability to complete such courses, in

accordance with standards established by the commissioner; provided,

that, no award shall exceed one hundred percent of the amount of tuition

charged.

b. Application for other awards. A student who would be eligible for a

tuition assistance program award pursuant to section six hundred

sixty-seven of this subpart and/or a federal Pell grant pursuant to

section one thousand seventy of title twenty of the United States code,

et. seq., is required to apply for each such award. Any award shall be

applied to tuition after the application of payments received under the

tuition assistance program pursuant to section six hundred sixty-seven

of this subpart.

c. GPA requirements. Notwithstanding paragraph c of subdivision four

of section six hundred sixty-one of this part, a school shall certify

that a recipient has achieved a grade point average necessary for

successful completion of his or her coursework to receive payment under

the award.

d. Credit requirements. An award shall be made to an applicant who:

(i) if enrolled in (A) a private degree granting institution of higher

education prior to application, has completed at least thirty combined

credits per year following the student's start date, or its equivalent,

applicable to his or her program or programs of study or (B) a public

degree granting institution of higher education prior to application,

has completed at least thirty combined credits per year following the

student's start date, or its equivalent, applicable to his or her

program or programs of study and which were accepted upon transfer to a

private degree granting institution of higher education; (ii) enrolls in

at least twelve credits per semester and completes at least thirty

combined credits per year following the student's start date, or its

equivalent, applicable to his or her program or programs of study except

in limited circumstances as prescribed by the corporation in regulation.

Notwithstanding, in the student's last semester, the student may take at

least one course needed to meet his or her graduation requirements and

enroll in and complete at least twelve credit hours or its equivalent.

For students who are disabled as defined by the Americans With

Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC 12101, the corporation shall prescribe

rules and regulations that allow applicants who are disabled to be

eligible for an award pursuant to this section based on modified

criteria.

e. Notwithstanding paragraph d of this subdivision, a student who

otherwise satisfies all of the requirements under this section but fails

to complete at least thirty combined credits, or its equivalent,

applicable to his or her program or programs of study in any year shall

be eligible to receive an award payment for the first semester of such

year, provided however, the student shall be ineligible for any further

payments under this section.

f. Additional requirements. A recipient shall agree to reside

exclusively in New York state, and shall not be employed in any other

state, for a continuous number of years equal to the duration of the

award received within six months of receipt of his or her final award

payment, and sign a contract with the corporation to have his or her

full award converted to a student loan according to a schedule to be

determined by the corporation if such student fails to fulfill this

requirement. The terms and conditions of this paragraph may, as

established by the rules and regulations of the corporation, be

deferred: (i) to complete undergraduate study; or (ii) to attend

graduate school on at least a half-time basis. Any obligation to comply

with such provisions as outlined in this paragraph may be cancelled upon

the death of the recipient. Notwithstanding any provisions of this

paragraph to the contrary, the corporation is authorized to promulgate

rules and regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of any

financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.

g. Failure to meet the conditions of the award shall not otherwise

disqualify a student's eligibility to receive an award under section six

hundred sixty-seven of this subpart.

2. Duration. No undergraduate shall be eligible for more than four

academic years of study, or five academic years if the program of study

normally requires five years. An undergraduate student enrolled in an

eligible two-year program approved by the commissioner shall be eligible

for no more than two academic years. Under no circumstances shall a

student receive an award for a two-year program for more than two

consecutive years of academic study or four consecutive semesters of

academic study; or at a four or five-year program, for more than four

consecutive years or eight consecutive semesters of academic study or

five consecutive years, or ten consecutive semesters of study if the

program normally requires five years. Notwithstanding, such duration may

be extended for an allowable interruption of study including, but not

limited to, death of a family member, medical leave, military service,

and parental leave, as established by the corporation in regulation.

3. Income. An award shall be made to an applicant who has an adjusted

gross income for the qualifying year, as such terms are defined in this

subdivision, equal to or less than: (i) one hundred thousand dollars for

recipients receiving an award in the two thousand seventeen--two

thousand eighteen academic year; (ii) one hundred ten thousand dollars

for recipients receiving an award in the two thousand eighteen--two

thousand nineteen academic year; and (iii) one hundred twenty-five

thousand dollars for recipients receiving an award in the two thousand

nineteen--two thousand twenty academic year and thereafter. Adjusted

gross income shall be the total of the combined adjusted gross income of

the applicant and the applicant's parents or the applicant and the

applicant's spouse, if married. Qualifying year shall be the adjusted

gross income as reported on the federal income tax return, or as

otherwise obtained by the corporation, for the calendar year coinciding

with the tax year established by the U.S. department of education to

qualify applicants for federal student financial aid programs authorized

by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of nineteen hundred sixty-five,

as amended, for the school year in which application for assistance is

made. Provided, however, if an applicant demonstrates to the corporation

that there has been a change in such applicant's adjusted gross income

in the year or years subsequent to the qualifying year which would

qualify such applicant for an award, the corporation shall review and

make a determination as to whether such applicant meets the requirement

set forth in this subdivision based on such year. Provided, further that

such change was caused by the death, permanent and total physical or

mental disability, divorce, or separation by judicial decree or pursuant

to an agreement of separation which is filed with a court of competent

jurisdiction of any person whose income was required to be used to

compute the applicant's total adjusted gross income.

4. Amount. Within the amounts appropriated therefor and based on

availability of funds, awards shall be granted beginning with the two

thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen academic year and thereafter

to applicants that the corporation has determined are eligible to

receive such awards. Recipients of an award under this program shall

receive six thousand dollars through a combination of the enhanced

tuition award plus a student's tuition assistance program award pursuant

to section six hundred sixty-seven of this subpart plus the

institution's matching award pursuant to subdivision five of this

section. Provided, however, any institution that charges tuition that is

reduced by greater than fifteen percent from the level of tuition

charged six years prior to the academic year in which the award is to be

applied shall be exempt from the requirement to provide such match and

students attending such institutions shall receive an enhanced tuition

award without such institutional match.

5. Matching awards. Commencing with the two thousand seventeen--two

thousand eighteen academic year and thereafter, participating

institutions shall credit each recipient's remaining tuition expenses in

an amount equal to the recipient's award under this section. Provided,

however that any institution that charges tuition that is reduced by

greater than fifteen percent from the level of tuition charged six years

prior to the academic year in which the award is to be applied shall be

exempt from the requirement to provide such match, and shall remain

exempt from providing such match to such recipient in any academic year

in which such recipient receives an award under this section.

6. Tuition. The rate of tuition charged to an individual receiving an

award shall not be increased for the duration of time that such

individual receives an award.

7. College option. An institution may choose not to participate in the

program and students attending any non-participating college may still

be eligible to receive an award pursuant to section six hundred

sixty-seven of this subpart.

8. Recipient selection. The president may establish: a. an application

deadline and b. a method of selecting recipients if in any given year

there are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the applicants

provided that priority shall be given to eligible applicants who are

currently in attendance at an institution of higher education.

9. Rules and regulations. The corporation is authorized to promulgate

rules and regulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations,

necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this section

including, but not limited to, the criteria for distributing the awards,

which may include a lottery or other form of random selection.