Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
164.740,
164.7890
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
164.744(2) authorizes the
authority to provide scholarships.
KRS
164.748(4) and
164.753(3)
require the authority to promulgate administrative regulations pertaining to
the awarding of scholarships as provided in
KRS
164.740 to
164.7891.
KRS
164.7890(9) requires the
authority to promulgate administrative regulations establishing the terms and
conditions for the award, cancellation, and repayment of coal county
scholarships for pharmacy students. This administrative regulation establishes
the eligibility, application, and disbursement requirements for scholarships
provided under the program.
Section 1.
Definitions.
(1) "Authority" is defined by
KRS
164.740(1).
(2) "Coal-producing county" is defined by
KRS
164.7890(2).
(3) "Default" means the status of an
obligation under this program that has entered repayment and upon which no
payment has been made for a cumulative period of 180 days following the
repayment begin date for the obligation.
(4) "Eligible student" means any individual
who satisfies the requirements set forth in
KRS
164.7890(3) and
(5).
(5) "Full-time practice" means providing
services as a pharmacist in a coal-producing county for a minimum of 2,000
hours per calendar year.
(6) "Home
County" means the county of permanent home residence of the student at the time
in which the application is made, as determined by a preponderance of evidence
such as a student's permanent address, parent's mailing address, parent's tax
returns, location of high school of graduation and additional criteria as
needed for a determination of residency status in accordance with
13
KAR 2:045.
(7) "Qualified service" is defined in
KRS
164.7890(3)(c).
Section 2. Eligibility of Applicants and
Selection Process.
(1) Applicants shall
complete the Coal County Scholarship Program for Pharmacy Students Application
as required by
11 KAR
4:080, Section 1(7), according to its instructions.
The applicant shall ensure that the completed application is received by the
authority on or before May 1, or the next regular business day if May 1 falls
on a weekend or holiday, preceding the academic year for which the award is
requested.
(2) Eligibility of
renewal applicants. A person who previously received a loan or scholarship
pursuant to
KRS
164.7890 shall be eligible to apply for and
be considered for a renewal coal county scholarship if, at the time of
application and disbursement, the renewal applicant has made satisfactory
progress toward completion of the eligible program of study in accordance with
the standards prescribed by the participating institution.
(3) Recipients shall be selected from among
eligible applicants in the following order:
(a) Renewal applicants whose home counties
are coal-producing counties; and
(b) Initial applicants whose home counties
are coal-producing counties.
(4) If there are more applicants within a
category listed in subsection (3) of this section than there are funds
available, the applications in each category shall be ranked to receive
available funds by date of receipt of application.
Section 3. Entrance Counseling.
(1) Each participating institution shall
conduct entrance counseling for each scholarship recipient prior to requesting
scholarship funds from the Authority on the recipient's behalf.
(2) The counseling shall be provided through
either in-person sessions or by electronic or written means with the
recipient's acknowledgement of receipt thereof.
(3) The following topics shall be covered
through the counseling:
(a) The recipient's
obligation to repay the scholarship if the recipient fails to provide qualified
service as required under the program;
(b) The consequences of defaulting on any
repayment obligation imposed under this program;
(c) The recipient's obligation to repay the
scholarship even if the recipient is not satisfied with the quality of
education received, does not complete the program of study, or does not find
employment in the appropriate field or service area after graduation;
and
(d) The importance of
contacting the authority to advise of any change with respect to the
recipient's name, address, enrollment status, or other contact
information.
Section
4. Disbursements.
(1) Each
disbursement of a coal county scholarship shall be evidenced by a promissory
note, prescribed by the authority, in which the scholarship recipient shall
agree to repay the scholarship funds or render qualified pharmacy service in
lieu thereof.
(2) Within thirty
(30) days following receipt by the authority of the original signed promissory
note for the student awarded a coal county scholarship, the authority shall
send to the institution a roster containing the recipient's name and Social
Security number.
(3) The
participating institution shall verify the student's full-time enrollment in a
Pharm D. program and completion of entrance counseling on the roster and return
it to the authority.
(4) Upon
receipt of the institution's completed roster, the authority shall disburse
funds to the institution on behalf of all eligible students to receive the
scholarship by electronic funds transfer.
(5) Disbursement of a coal county scholarship
shall be made at the beginning of each fall and spring term.
(6) The participating institution shall be
responsible for proper delivery of the funds. Upon the receipt of funds, the
participating institution shall immediately credit the recipient's account and
notify the recipient in writing that it has so credited that account, and
deliver to the recipient any remaining scholarship proceeds.
(7) The participating institution shall
retain record of the date funds were either credited to the student's account
or disbursed to the student, the name of a recipient for whom funds are being
returned, the amount being returned, and the reason funds are being
returned.
(8) If a recipient
withdraws or is expelled prior to the first day of classes of the period of
enrollment for which the scholarship is awarded, the institution shall return
the proceeds to the authority.
(9)
(a) If a recipient subsequently refuses to
repay the scholarship on grounds that the student was unaware of or did not
receive delivery of the scholarship proceeds from the school, upon written
request from the authority, the institution shall promptly provide documentary
evidence to the authority that the recipient received or had funds credited to
the student's account and was notified of this transaction.
(b) The school shall otherwise reimburse the
authority for any amount of the scholarship that is unenforceable absent that
documentary evidence.
(c) The
obligation of the school to provide the documentary evidence specified in
paragraph (a) of this subsection shall continue until the recipient's
obligations for repayment of the scholarship is paid in full or otherwise
discharged.
Section
5. Refunds.
(1) If a student
fails to enroll, withdraws, is expelled from the institution, or otherwise
fails to complete the program on or after the student's first day of class of
the period of enrollment or changes enrollment status, the Authority shall be
due a refund of monies paid to the institution on behalf of that student or a
repayment of cash disbursements made to the student for educational
expenses.
(2) If the student
received financial assistance administered by the authority, the refund and
repayment shall be due to the authority for its financial assistance programs
in accordance with this section.
(3) The institution shall adopt and implement
a fair and equitable refund policy for financial assistance administered by the
authority which shall be:
(a) A clear and
conspicuous written statement;
(b)
Made available to a prospective student, prior to the earlier of the student's
enrollment or the execution of the student's enrollment agreement, and to
currently-enrolled students;
(c)
Consistently administered by the institution; and
(d) Made available to the authority upon
request.
(4) The
institution's refund policy for financial assistance administered by the
authority shall either:
(a) Use the same
methods and formulas for determining the amount of a refund as the institution
uses for determining the return of federal financial assistance funds;
or
(b) Be a separate and distinct
policy adopted by the institution that is based upon:
1. The requirements of applicable state law;
or
2. The specific refund standards
established by the institution's nationally-recognized accrediting
agency.
(5) The
amount of the refund shall be determined in accordance with the educational
institution's refund policy relative to financial assistance funds, except as
provided in subsection (7) of this section.
(6) If the institution determines that a
refund of financial assistance is due in accordance with its policy, the
institution shall allocate to the financial assistance programs administered by
the authority the refund and repayment prior to allocating the refund to
institutional or private sources of financial assistance.
(7)
(a) If
a coal county scholarship recipient officially or unofficially withdraws from
or is expelled by an institution before the first day of classes of the award
period, the award shall constitute an over award and a full refund and
repayment of the coal county scholarship shall be required, notwithstanding any
institutional policy to the contrary.
(b) If the institution is unable to document
the student's last date of attendance, any coal county scholarship disbursement
for that award period shall be subject to full refund.
(c) If a coal county scholarship recipient's
enrollment is terminated with no assessment of tuition and fees by the
institution, the full coal county scholarship shall be subject to:
1. Cancellation, if not yet disbursed;
or
2. Refund if the coal county
scholarship has already been disbursed.
(8)
(a) The
institution shall remit to the authority the amount of funds allocated from the
refund amount to the financial assistance programs administered by the
authority as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days after the end
of the term in which the student ceased to be enrolled.
(b) Refunds by the institution transmitted to
the authority shall be accompanied by:
1. The
student's name and Social Security Number;
2. The reason for the refund;
3. The date of enrollment status change;
and
4. The semester and
year.
(c) Failure of the
institution to make restitution if required shall, without precluding other
remedies, be cause for limitation, suspension, or termination of the
participation of the institution in accordance with
11
KAR 4:020.
Section 6. Notification Requirements.
(1) A scholarship recipient shall notify the
authority in writing within thirty (30) days of:
(a) Cessation of full-time enrollment in a
pharmacy program;
(b) Certification
to practice pharmacy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;
(c) Failure to obtain certification to
practice pharmacy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;
(d) Employment in a qualified service
position;
(e) Cessation of
employment in a qualified service position;
(f) Failure, within 180 days following
certification to practice pharmacy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, to obtain
employment in full-time practice in a coal-producing county within the
Commonwealth of Kentucky as a certified pharmacist for a majority of the
calendar year; or
(g) Change of
name, permanent home address, or place of employment.
(2) The school of pharmacy shall notify the
authority in writing within thirty (30) days of learning that a Coal County
Scholarship Program for Pharmacy Students award recipient ceases to be enrolled
on a full-time basis in the school of pharmacy.
Section 7. Records.
(1) A participating institution shall
maintain complete and accurate records pertaining to the eligibility,
enrollment, and progress of each student receiving aid under this program and
the disbursement of funds and institutional charges necessary to audit the
disposition of these funds.
(2) The
institution's records shall be maintained for at least three (3) years after
the student ceases to be enrolled at the institution.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
164.744(2),
164.748(4),
164.753(3),
164.7890(9)