Sec. 13.
(a) The
commission shall execute agreements with each approved institution, which shall
evidence the willingness of the approved institution to abide by the
commission's law, rules, and policies. Execution of an agreement with the
commission binds an approved institution to meet the following requirements:
(1) Notify the commission, at the times and
in the form specified by the commission, of any of the following circumstances:
(A) A recipient's failure to enroll in or
maintain status as a full-time student if the student was awarded a HEG through
the institution's refund period.
(B) A recipient's failure to maintain
satisfactory academic progress as that may be defined by each approved
institution.
(C) A recipient's
grant overpayment or default of any educational loan.
(D) A recipient owes an overpayment of any
federal or commission-administered student aid.
(2) Supply the commission with information it
receives that may raise questions about a recipient's eligibility, including,
but not limited to, the following:
(A) State
of residency.
(B) Omitted,
inaccurate, falsified, or conflicting information on the approved need analysis
application or any other documentation received.
(C) Misclassification of a recipient as an
independent or dependent student.
(3) Maintain accurate and complete records
sufficient to document the use of state grant funds for each recipient for at
least three (3) years following the academic year in which a grant was made to
a recipient and, during normal business hours, permit inspection and audit of
records related to state student financial assistance programs.
(4) Return unused, or inappropriately used,
state grant funds to the commission by the established deadline dates. State
grants cannot be treated as federal or institutional money for the purpose of
returning funds. Returning funds to the commission must be done independent of
the return of funds to the federal government, the institution, or any other
granting source. Funds must be returned based on a prorated basis in such a way
that if an institution charges a student a percentage of the tuition and
regularly assessed fees used to calculate the award, the award can be claimed
up to that percentage and the rest returned to the commission.
(5) Submit commission-required reports by the
established deadline dates. Failure to do so will result in unpaid claim
reimbursements.
(6) Assist the
commission in determinations of eligibility and financial need by sharing
information supplied by applicants.
(7) Certify to the commission changes in a
student's status resulting from the application of section 5(b) or 5(c) of this
rule and changes in a student's PC and EFC resulting from verification under
the federal methodology for federal, state, or institutional purposes that
exceed the level established by the commission as significant. Approved
institutions must certify changes to the commission according to the schedule
published by the commission.
(8)
Disburse state award funds only after the applicant's verification process is
complete regardless of whether verification is federally or institutionally
mandated. Approved institutions that participate in the United States
Department of Education's Quality Assurance (QA) program can disburse
first-term awards to QA-selected students before completing the verification
process. A QA-selected student's verification must be completed before their
second term award can be disbursed. If a QA school's verification process
lowers a student's HEA/FOC award, the school must refund the overawarded amount
to the commission. A verification that increases a student's award amount will
not be paid by the commission for a semester, trimester, or quarter that has
already been reconciled.
(9)
Certify to the commission the names of all applicants for a state grant who
have been classified as independent by the financial aid administrator's
professional judgment and who meets one (1) of the commission-approved
professional judgment (pj) dependency override categories under section 5(c) of
this rule. Copies of all documents relevant to the decision shall be made
available to the commission upon request. Schools must document all pj actions,
adhere to their written pj policies and procedures guidelines, and follow the
commissions written pj policies. For state grant purposes, final determination
of status under section 5(d) of this rule rests solely with the executive
director or designee.
(10) For
purposes of this section, an improperly awarded grant is defined as a grant
that was issued to an applicant based on incorrect information provided to the
school and/or commission by the applicant. If a school makes an error that
results in a grant being improperly awarded to a student, the school is
responsible for refunding the award amount to the commission.
(11) Make a reasonable effort to collect
repayment from a recipient of an improperly awarded state grant by the end of
the enrollment period that is, by the end of the semester, quarter, or
trimester in which the award was disbursed. Schools must notify the commission
within thirty (30) calendar days after an account goes into repayment of an
improperly awarded state grant.
(A) A
reasonable effort shall consist of an effort equal to the approved
institution's normal process of collecting improperly awarded financial aid
from students. An approved institution shall document its effort to obtain
repayment of an improper grant.
(B)
In the event an institution cannot gain repayment of an improperly disbursed
award, the institution must, within thirty (30) calendar days of determining
the account uncollectible, appeal to the commission to be released of its
collection obligations.
(C) Failure
to make a reasonable effort to collect and notify the commission in a timely
manner of improperly awarded state grants, including the appeal procedure for
uncollectible accounts, will result in an institution being held financially
liable.
(12) Reconcile
all awards by the deadlines established by the commission. Awards for periods
that are not reconciled by the end of a school's semester, trimester, or
quarter will not be available for disbursement in a subsequent period. The
institution shall prorate any tuition and mandatory fee charges if those
charges are less than the reported traditional student charges.
(b) The commission is not
obligated to provide grant funds for the same student to more than one (1)
approved institution. When more than one (1) approved institution claims
commission funds for the same student, the institution in which the student
first enrolled shall have claim on the commission's grant, unless the student
officially withdrew from the first-enrolled institution in time to receive a
full refund of tuition and regularly assessed fees.
(c) A consortium agreement between no more
than two (2) approved institutions is allowed providing the two (2) schools
have a written agreement that requires one (1) of the two (2) schools to
consider the student enrolled full time at their institution. A home school is
responsible for a student's financial aid administration and for ensuring that
the student maintains satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Students' state
grant awards must be based on a home school's approved tuition and fees as
approved by the commission unless the tuition and fees charged students are
less than what all students enrolled at the home school would otherwise pay.
Home schools are responsible for reconciling state grant awards.
(d) If, during an academic period, a student
enrolled in an institution ceases for any reason to be a student in good
standing, the institution shall promptly give notice to the commission as to
the change of status and the reason for it. If, under its current standards, a
fee or charge that has been paid as part of an award would otherwise be
remissible by the institution to the student, the fee or charge shall be
remitted to the commission.
Transferred from the State Student Assistance Commission (
585 IAC 1-9-14) to the Commission for Higher Education of the State of Indiana
( 500 IAC 1-1-13) by IC
21-18.5-1-2(c),
effective July 1, 2012.
