15-1855

15-1855. Postsecondary education grant
program; fund; program termination; definition

A. The commission on postsecondary education shall develop, implement and
administer a postsecondary education grant program. The commission shall develop
application forms, procedures and deadlines and shall select eligible students each year
for participation in the postsecondary education grant program. The commission may
establish partnerships with qualifying schools for the administration of the
postsecondary education grant program. Participating full-time students shall receive a
grant in an amount of two thousand dollars annually for a maximum of four calendar years
to be used to pay all or a portion of the following:

1. The tuition charged at a qualifying school.

2. The cost of books required for classes at a qualifying school.

3. The fees charged at a qualifying school.

B. The amount of a grant awarded to a participating part-time student enrolled at
least half-time for the academic year as defined in 20 United States Code section 1088
shall be prorated in accordance with the part-time status of the student.

C. Employees of private postsecondary institutions and family members of employees
of private postsecondary institutions are not eligible to receive a postsecondary
education grant pursuant to this section if the employee or family member is eligible for
tuition reimbursement or a tuition waiver as a benefit of employment.

D. A student who has a baccalaureate degree from any postsecondary educational
institution is not eligible to receive postsecondary education grant monies pursuant to
this section.

E. Students who provide satisfactory proof to the commission that the student has
met each of the following criteria are eligible to submit an application for
consideration by the commission for a grant under the postsecondary education grant
program:

1. The student either:

(a) Is currently a resident of this state and has been a resident of this state for
at least the past twelve months.

(b) Is a member of the military service of the United States stationed in this
state or the spouse or dependent of a member of the military service of the United States
stationed in this state.

2. The student has met the qualifications adopted by the commission. The commission
shall adopt minimum qualifications that are comparable to the admissions standards
established by the Arizona board of regents for Arizona public universities.

3. The student registers for enrollment as a student in a baccalaureate program at
a nationally or regionally accredited private postsecondary educational institution in
this state that awards four year baccalaureate degrees.

4. The student has provided high school transcripts as proof of graduation if the
student has graduated from a public or private high school. If high school records no
longer exist for a student or after every reasonable effort has been made to obtain
official records, the student may submit a letter certified by the high school from which
the student graduated or the original high school diploma.

5. The student has completed and submitted a free application for federal student
aid.

6. The student is a citizen or legal resident of the United States or is otherwise
lawfully present in the United States.

7. If the student is eligible to apply for monies from the private postsecondary
education student financial assistance fund established by section 15-1854, the student
shall apply for and receive monies from the private postsecondary education student
financial assistance fund before the student is eligible to apply for a grant from the
postsecondary education grant fund established by this section.

F. The postsecondary education grant fund is established consisting of legislative
appropriations. The commission shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are
continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating
to lapsing of appropriations. The commission shall make awards for payment of tuition at
qualifying schools to students who are selected to participate in the postsecondary
education grant program pursuant to subsection A of this section.

G. If the amount of monies available for postsecondary education grants in any
fiscal year is insufficient to provide grants to all eligible applicants, the commission
shall award grants to eligible students in the order in which the applications were
received by the commission, except that priority shall be given to qualifying students
who received a grant in the previous fiscal year and who are still in good academic
standing at the same qualifying school. The commission shall maintain a waiting list for
all other applicants.

H. A student who fails to receive a baccalaureate degree within a five year period
of receipt of the program award shall reimburse the postsecondary education grant fund
for all awards received pursuant to subsection A of this section. On receipt of
supporting documentation from the student, for good cause shown the commission may
provide for extensions of the five year period to obtain a baccalaureate degree.

I. The commission shall submit an annual report to the governor, the president of
the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the joint legislative budget
committee that includes a detailed description of the amount of monies distributed under
the postsecondary education grant program during the previous fiscal year and that
includes the total number of qualified applicants for grants, the total number of grants
awarded, the qualifying schools attended by grant recipients and the total number of
qualified applicants who were placed on the waiting list. The commission shall provide a
copy of this report to the secretary of state and the director of the Arizona state
library, archives and public records.

J. If the commission is notified by a qualifying school that a student who has
received a postsecondary education grant is no longer in good academic standing at the
qualifying school, the commission shall immediately discontinue the grant and the student
shall reimburse the postsecondary education grant fund for any unused portion or any
unlawfully used portion of a grant received pursuant to subsection A of this section.

K. The commission shall develop a marketing strategy that is designed to provide
information about the postsecondary education grant program to all high school students
in this state.

L. The program established by this section ends on July 1, 2016 pursuant to section
41-3102.

M. For the purposes of this section, "qualifying school" means a nationally or
regionally accredited private postsecondary educational institution in this state that
offers four year baccalaureate degrees.