Alabama Administrative Code › Title 300 - ALABAMA COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION › Chapter 300-4-4 - ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM › Section 300-4-4-.04 - Awarding Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) The
			 following procedures shall be the method used by the Alabama Commission on
			 Higher Education for making available Alabama National Guard Educational
			 Assistance Program awards to eligible students at eligible institutions:
(a) Applications may be obtained from
			 eligible institutions, the Alabama Military Department, and from the Alabama
			 Commission on Higher Education.
(b)
			 Applications shall be completed by student applicants. All information
			 requested on the Alabama National Guard Educational Assistance Program
			 Application must be completed and the form mailed or delivered to the Alabama
			 National Guard Educational Assistance Program office. Applications will not
			 receive consideration for grant payment if received in the Alabama National
			 Guard Educational Assistance Program office after September 30 of the academic
			 year for which grant funds are being requested. If all items and information
			 requested on the application form are not completed, the application is invalid
			 and the student is ineligible to receive an Alabama National Guard Educational
			 Assistance Program payment.
1. Each
			 application shall have a preliminary review of the Alabama Military Department
			 and the institution to determine if the application is complete and meets the
			 eligibility criteria for a grant.
2. Each student applicant shall be notified
			 by the Alabama Military Department or the institution, as appropriate, when the
			 application is incomplete and additional information is needed. The Alabama
			 Military Department, the institution or the Alabama Commission on Higher
			 Education, as appropriate, shall notify each student who does not meet all
			 eligibility criteria and is, therefore, ineligible for an Alabama National
			 Guard Educational Assistance Program awards.
(c) All applications which pass the
			 preliminary review for eligibility shall be compared to other appropriate
			 departmental or institutional records. Such records shall be used to verify
			 that each student applicant is an eligible student as defined in section
			 .02(12).
(d) The Adjutant General
			 of the Alabama National Guard, or his representative, and the institutional
			 financial aid officer shall sign and complete each application of a student
			 determined to be eligible for an Alabama National Guard Educational Assistance
			 Program award.
(e) Each completed
			 application shall be forwarded to the Alabama National Guard Educational
			 Assistance Program Office.
(f)
			 Information received from applicants shall be evaluated by the Alabama National
			 Guard Educational Assistance Program Office.
1. Incomplete applications received shall be
			 returned to the eligible institution or the student applicant.
2. Complete applications of eligible students
			 shall be compared with monies available.
3. All Alabama Student Grant Program proceeds
			 for which the student may be eligible shall be deducted from the tuition figure
			 used for Alabama National Guard Educational Assistance Program
			 purposes.
4. In no event shall
			 payments of the tuition reimbursement under the Alabama National Guard
			 Educational Assistance Program amount to more than 100% of qualified tuition
			 and fees as defined in .02(21).
5.
			 An undergraduate student who qualifies for the Academic Excellence Benefits as
			 defined in .02(1) shall receive an amount equivalent to 100% of qualified
			 tuition and fees. Undergraduate students with this benefit may use these funds
			 for tuition and fee reimbursement or ancillary costs as defined in
			 .02(5).
6. Applicants eligible for
			 the Educational Grant award and Academic Excellence Benefits will receive a
			 total amount award not to exceed the median cost of tuition per academic term
			 of all state-supported Alabama four-year institutions. For the first term of
			 implementation under SB 67, Act 2023-528, award payments for the Educational
			 Grant and Academic Excellence Benefits on behalf of the grant recipients will
			 be processed and sent to the institutions at the end of the term, provided the
			 final approval by the Commission Board at its December 2023 Commission
			 Meeting.
7. Applicant eligibility
			 for undergraduate and graduate levels:
(i)
			 Undergraduate: The first undergraduate degree obtained is a baccalaureate
			 degree. Short certificates, long certificates, and associate degrees of
			 qualifying academic pathways may be used to obtain a baccalaureate degree. The
			 tuition reimbursement and academic excellence benefits provided by this article
			 shall only pay for the first baccalaureate degree. The tuition reimbursement
			 and academic excellence benefits for undergraduate students under this program
			 shall be claimed for no more than a total of 120 academic hours or until
			 receipt of the first bachelor's degree for which the scholarship is used,
			 whichever comes first. The total of 120 academic hours includes no more than a
			 total of 72 academic hours earned at a community college. A guard member who
			 has already obtained a baccalaureate degree is not eligible to receive tuition
			 reimbursement or academic excellence benefits for coursework leading to a
			 second degree at the same level.
(ii) Graduate: If the benefits were not used
			 by a guard member for a baccalaureate degree, the tuition reimbursement and
			 Academic Excellence Benefits for graduate students under this article shall be
			 claimed for no more than a total of 60 academic hours or until the receipt of
			 the first graduate degree whichever comes first. A guard member who has already
			 obtained a graduate degree is not eligible to receive tuition reimbursement for
			 coursework leading to a second degree at the same level.
8. No guard member shall be eligible for
			 tuition reimbursement or Academic Excellence Benefits for more than 12 years
			 after the date of the first tuition payment to him or her under this
			 article.
9. Reimbursement shall be
			 made promptly to the institutions at the end of each academic term (quarter or
			 semester) for all certified invoices. Should funds appropriated to the Alabama
			 National Guard Educational Assistance Program be insufficient to provide each
			 eligible student with a full grant payment for any term(s) during an academic
			 year, then the awards will be prorated equally among the institutions on a
			 percentage basis of the total invoices/vouchers received and paid
			 accordingly.
(g) All
			 awards made by the Alabama National Guard Educational Assistance Program shall
			 be made to individual students enrolled in eligible programs at eligible
			 institutions in the State of Alabama.
(h) Disbursement of all grants shall be made
			 by check to the institutions in the State of Alabama. The Alabama National
			 Guard Educational Assistance Program shall have checks prepared for eligible
			 awardees.
1. The Alabama National Guard
			 Educational Assistance Program Office shall prepare vouchers for eligible
			 students for whom funds are available.
2. The Alabama National Guard Educational
			 Assistance Program Office shall verify that each check is properly
			 prepared.
3. Checks shall be mailed
			 along with a certification roster to the institutional Financial Aid Officer
			 for issuing to students.
4. The
			 institution shall issue checks to students and ensure that the institutional
			 official who issues a check signs and dates the roster whenever such check is
			 issued. The completed certification roster shall be returned to the Alabama
			 National Guard Educational Assistance Program Office no later than sixty (60)
			 calendar days after receipt of the certification roster.
5. All checks which are undeliverable by the
			 institution shall be returned to the Alabama National Guard Educational
			 Assistance Program along with the reason for cancelling the checks, no later
			 than sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of the checks.