Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part VIII - Higher Education Assistance Agency › Chapter 121 - STUDENT FINANCIAL AID › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS › Section 121.34 - Institutional appeals and hearings (for other than the Federal Family Education Loan Programs)

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) If
					 the President and Chief Executive Officer suspends the processing of student
					 aid request forms for students at an approved institution or ceases
					 disbursement of funds to an approved institution, the institution will be
					 notified in writing of the action and the grounds therefor and will be afforded
					 an opportunity to contend to the Agency that the processing of aid request
					 forms or disbursement of funds should be resumed and to submit relevant data in
					 support of this contention.
(b) If
					 the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency determines that an
					 institution is not an eligible institution within the meaning of this chapter
					 for a program administered by the Agency, the institution will be notified in
					 writing of the determination, the grounds therefor and its right to appeal from
					 the decision.
(c) An institution
					 which is aggrieved by the determination of the President and Chief Executive
					 Officer that it is not an eligible institution may file an appeal of that
					 determination to the Board. This subsection supersedes 1 Pa. Code §
											35.20 (relating to appeals from
					 actions of the staff).
(d) An
					 appeal shall be filed on or before the 15th day after the date on which
					 notification of the determination by which the institution was aggrieved was
					 mailed to it at its post office address registered with the Agency.
(e) The appeal may be heard by the Board or,
					 at its direction, by a hearing examiner appointed by the Chairperson of the
					 Board or, in the event of the unavailability of the Chairperson, by the Vice
					 Chairperson of the Board, from a list maintained by the President and Chief
					 Executive Officer. The hearing examiner or the Board will schedule the appeal
					 for hearing within 30 days from the date on which the appeal is filed and will
					 give the institution at least 7 days' notice of the hearing. The notice will
					 specify the date, hour and place of hearing.
(f) Hearings will be held at the offices of
					 the Agency in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. During the hearing, the institution
					 will be given the opportunity to submit relevant evidence in support of its
					 contentions. The institution shall also have the right to present oral and
					 written argument and to cross-examine witnesses which are offered by the
					 Agency. This subsection supplements 1 Pa. Code §
											35.126 (relating to presentation
					 by the parties).
(g) The hearing
					 examiner or the Board will prepare or cause the preparation of a verbatim
					 transcript of the hearing. When the appeal is heard by a hearing examiner,
					 findings of fact and conclusions of law shall also be prepared, and the
					 transcript, findings and conclusions shall be forwarded directly to the Board
					 for review and a final decision by the Board. This subsection supplements 1 Pa.
					 Code §
											35.131 (relating to recording of
					 proceedings) and supersedes 1 Pa. Code §
											35.202 (relating to proceedings in
					 which proposed reports are prepared).
(h) The Board will make an order or
					 determination as shall appear just and proper from all the evidence submitted.
					 Notice of the decision of the Board will be mailed promptly to the institution
					 at the post office address which is registered with the Agency.
(i) The decision of the Board will become
					 final 10 days after the date thereof. Within 30 days after the decision of the
					 Board becomes final, the institution may file an appeal therefrom with
					 Commonwealth Court.
The provisions of this §
													121.34 issued under section 4 of
						  the act of August 7, 1963 (P. L. 549, No. 290) (24 P. S. §
														5104); section 1 of the act of January 25,
						  1966 (P. L. 1546, No. 541) (24 P. S. §
														5151); and sections 3 and 4(1.2) of the act
						  of July 12, 1981 (P. L. 264, No. 89) (24 P. S. §§
														5102.1 and
						  5104(1.2)); amended under
						  section 4 of the act of August 7, 1963 (P. L. 549, No. 290) (24 P. S. §
														5104); section 1 of the act of January 25,
						  1966 (P. L. 1546, No. 541) (24 P. S. §
														5151); the act of July 18, 1974 (P. L. 483,
						  No. 174) (24 P. S. §§
														5181-5189); the
						  act of July 1, 1988 (P. L. 1259, No. 155) (24 P. S. §§
														5191-5197); and the act of June 26, 1992 (P.
						  L. 322, No. 64) (24 P. S. §§
														5198.1-5198.7).
This section cited in 22 Pa. Code §
													121.151 (relating to application
						  of existing Agency regulations).