Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment updates gender-specific
language, clarifies the citizenship requirement, and adds a policy for award
disbursement and delivery.
PURPOSE: This amendment updates the definition of
institution of postsecondary education or approved institution to reflect
statutory revisions.
(1)
Definitions.
(A) Academic year shall be from
July 1 of any year through June 30 of the following year.
(B) Applicant means a survivor who has filed
an accurate and complete application to receive a War Veteran's Survivors Grant
award, who has been certified as eligible by the Missouri Veteran's Commission,
and who otherwise qualifies to receive such award under section
173.254,
RSMo.
(C) Award shall be an amount
of money paid by Missouri to a qualified applicant for tuition assistance, room
and board, and books pursuant to the provisions of this rule and section
173.234,
RSMo.
(D) Award year shall be from
July 1 of any year through June 30 of the following year, excluding summer
terms.
(E) Books are any books or
related supplementary materials required for any course for which tuition was
paid in whole or in part by an award under this section.
(F) Consortium agreement means a written
agreement between two (2) or more approved institutions that allows students to
take courses at a school other than the home school and have those courses
count toward the degree or certificate at the home school and that complies
with United States Department of Education requirements for federal student
financial assistance.
(G)
Coordinating board, CBHE, or board is the Coordinating Board for Higher
Education created by section
173.005,
RSMo.
(H) Department means the
Department of Higher Education created by section
173.005,
RSMo.
(I) Grant shall be the War
Veteran's Survivors Grant established in section
173.234,
RSMo.
(J) Initial recipient means
any applicant who meets the criteria set forth in section
173.234,
RSMo, and in this regulation; has filed an accurate and complete application by
the deadline established by the CBHE for the War Veteran's Survivors Grant
program; and has not received a War Veteran's Survivors Grant award in any
prior academic year.
(K)
Institution of postsecondary education or approved institution shall be any
Missouri public institution of postsecondary education as defined in
subdivision 173.1102.1(3), RSMo.
(L) Renewal recipient means any applicant who has
received a War Veteran's Survivors Grant award; who meets the requirements set
forth in section
173.234,
RSMo, and in this regulation; and who has filed an accurate and complete
application by the deadline established by the department for the War Veteran's
Survivors Grant program.
(M)
Satisfactory academic progress means meeting the requirements established by
the approved institution in which the student is enrolled for students at the
approved institution to receive assistance under Title IV financial aid
programs included in the Higher Education Act of 1965, with the exception of
grade point average.
(N) Survivor
shall be any child up to twenty-five (25) years of age or spouse of a war
veteran as defined in section 173.234.1(5), RSMo.
(O) Tuition is any tuition or incidental fee, or both,
charged by an institution of postsecondary education for attendance at the
institution by a student as a resident of this state.
(P) Tuition assistance is the component of the award
related to the actual tuition paid by the student up to the amount charged to a
Missouri resident at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
(2) Responsibilities of Institutions of
Postsecondary Education.
(A) Institutions
participating in the War Veteran's Survivors Grant program must meet the
requirements set forth in
6 CSR
10-2.140 Institutional Eligibility for Student
Participation.
(B) Institutions
must retain highlighted book receipts documenting each eligible student's book
costs and provide a copy of the receipts to the department upon
request.
(3) Eligibility
Policy. To qualify for an award, an initial or renewal recipient, at the time
of application and throughout the period during which the recipient receives
the award, must-
(A) Meet the requirements
set forth in section
173.234,
RSMo, and this regulation;
(B) Meet
the requirements set forth in section
173.1110,
RSMo; and
(C) Be enrolled or
accepted for enrollment at least half-time in an approved institution where
half-time enrollment is determined by the standards of the
institution.
(4)
Application and Evaluation.
(A) The
department shall annually prescribe the time and method for filing applications
for an award under the War Veteran's Survivors Grant program. It shall make
announcement of its action in these respects.
(B) Students shall apply annually for an
award under the War Veteran's Survivors Grant program by completing and
submitting the application form as prescribed by the department.
(C) The department will evaluate each
application for a War Veteran's Survivors Grant award according to the
certification provided by the Missouri Veteran's Commission and according to
the extent to which each applicant meets the requirements set forth in this
regulation and section
173.234,
RSMo.
(5) Award Policy.
(A) War Veteran's Survivors Grant awards
shall be allotted for one (1) award year. Award amounts will be calculated and
issued for each semester of that award year.
(B) Within the limits of amounts appropriated
therefore, a renewal recipient may continue to receive an award so long as the
recipient:
1. Maintains a cumulative grade
point average of at least two and one-half (2.5) on a four-point (4.0) scale,
or its equivalent;
2. Maintains
satisfactory academic progress; and
3. Otherwise meets the criteria of the War
Veteran's Survivors Grant program.
(C) Provided that sufficient funds are
appropriated, initial and renewal recipients who meet the eligibility
requirements set forth in section
173.234,
RSMo, and this rule shall be eligible for a War Veteran's Survivors Grant award
amounting to the sum of the following:
1. The
actual tuition charged for the number of hours in which the initial or renewal
recipient is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the approved institution.
The amount of the tuition assistance shall not exceed the amount of tuition
charged a Missouri resident enrolled in the same number of hours at the
University of Missouri-Columbia. For programs measured in clock hours rather
than credit hours, the institution shall use the conversion formula of fifteen
(15) classroom hours equal one (1) credit hour;
2. An allowance of up to two thousand dollars
($2,000) per semester for room and board, as determined by the department;
and
3. The actual cost of the
survivor's books at the approved institution where the initial or renewal
recipient is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as documented with actual
receipts for books purchased, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per
semester.
(D) Within the
amounts appropriated for awards, the coordinating board shall provide awards
for up to twenty-five (25) applicants annually to attend approved
institutions.
(E) Eligible renewal
recipients shall have award priority. If funds are not available to make awards
to all applicants who would otherwise meet the requirements to be renewal
recipients, the department will make awards according to priority based on the
earliest complete and accurate applications received by the
department.
(F) Applicants who
qualify as initial recipients under the provisions of this rule shall receive
awards if sufficient funds are appropriated and subject to the priorities
described above.
(G) If funds are
not available to make awards to all applicants who would otherwise meet the
requirements to be initial recipients, the department will make awards
according to priority based on the earliest complete and accurate applications
received by the department.
(H)
Eligible applicants who do not receive an award due to insufficient grant funds
shall be put on a waiting list. If the waiting list of eligible applicants
exceeds fifty (50), the CBHE may petition the general assembly to expand the
quota. If the quota is not expanded, then the eligibility status of these
eligible applicants will be extended to the following academic year and the
applicant will be considered for an award in accordance with the criteria in
subsections (5)(D)-(G) of this rule.
(I) Award notifications will be sent to the
eligible applicants by the department once the applications have been approved
and the award amounts have been determined. Notification of award eligibility
will also be sent to the student financial aid office at the approved
institution where the student plans to enroll or has enrolled.
(J) An applicant who has been denied a War
Veteran's Survivors Grant award for lack of satisfactory academic progress or
failure to maintain the grade point average requirement in paragraphs
(5)(B)1.-2. of this rule may not receive another War Veteran's Survivors Grant
award until the enrollment period after the applicable standard has once again
been met.
(K) No War Veteran's
Survivors Grant award will be granted to an applicant after completion of the
first baccalaureate degree, regardless of age.
(L) War Veteran's Survivors Grant awards will
be made for use during the academic year, but no funds for War Veteran's
Survivors Grant awards will be granted for use for summer school.
(M) No War Veteran's Survivors Grant award
will be made retroactive to a previous academic year. A War Veteran's Survivors
Grant award will be made retroactive to a previous semester only upon the sole
discretion of the department.
(N)
War Veteran's Survivors Grant awards will be issued only after certification of
attendance of the student by the institution.
(O) In order to receive an award for
attendance at more than one (1) institution during a single semester,
applicants must be enrolled in a consortium agreement. Awards based on
consortium agreements will be issued to the home school.
(P) The applicant's award will be sent to the
approved institution to be delivered to the student's account. The institution
shall retain the portion of the award that the student owes for expenses and
promptly give the applicant any remaining funds.
(Q) An applicant's failure to provide an accurate and
complete application or any additional information by any deadline may result
in loss of the War Veteran's Survivors Grant award.
(R) The CBHE may withhold payment of any War Veteran's
Survivors Grant award after initiating an inquiry into the initial or continued
eligibility of a student or into the approved status of an
institution.
(S) A student may
transfer the War Veteran's Survivors Grant award from one (1) approved public
institution of postsecondary education to another without losing eligibility
for assistance, but the CBHE shall make any necessary adjustments in the amount
of the award.
(6)
Information Sharing Policy. All information on an individual's War Veteran's
Survivors Grant application will be shared with the financial aid office of the
institution to which the individual has applied or that the individual is
attending to permit verification of data submitted. Information may be shared
with federal financial aid officers if necessary to verify data furnished by
the state or federal governments as provided for in the Privacy Act of 1974,
5
U.S.C. sections 552,
552a.
*Original authority: 173.234, RSMo
2008.