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
Universal Citation: AL Admin Code R 300-4-4-.04
Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 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.
Author: Timothy W. Vick; Stephanie C. Dolan
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 31-10-1, et seq.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Alabama may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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