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91_HB3831eng HB3831 Engrossed LRB9110077NTks 1 AN ACT concerning higher education scholarships. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Higher Education Scholarship Act. 6 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: 7 "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance 8 Commission. 9 "Eligible high school" means: 10 (1) a public high school located in Illinois; 11 (2) a private school located in Illinois where 12 children are taught the branches of education taught to 13 children of corresponding age and grade in public high 14 schools in Illinois and which has been recognized by the 15 Commission; or 16 (3) a public or private secondary school located in 17 another state and accredited by one of the following 18 regional agencies: 19 (A) The Southern Association of Colleges and 20 Schools. 21 (B) The New England Association of Schools and 22 Colleges. 23 (C) The Middle States Association of Colleges 24 and Schools. 25 (D) The North Central Association of Colleges 26 and Schools. 27 (E) The Northwestern Association of Schools 28 and Colleges. 29 (F) The Western Association of Schools and 30 Colleges. 31 "Freshman student" means a student at an institution of HB3831 Engrossed -2- LRB9110077NTks 1 higher education who has attempted less than 31 semester 2 hours. 3 "Grade point average" means the numbered grade average 4 calculated using a 4.0 scale. 5 "Institution of higher education" means a community 6 college, college, or university, whether public or private, 7 located in this State. 8 "Junior student" means a student at an institution of 9 higher education who has attempted at least 61 semester hours 10 but less than 91 semester hours. 11 "Mandatory fees" means fees approved by the Illinois 12 Student Assistance Commission that are charged by an 13 institution of higher education to every student enrolled in 14 that institution of higher education, regardless of the 15 student's program of study. 16 "Matriculated status" means being recognized as a student 17 in a defined program of study leading to a degree at an 18 institution of higher education. 19 "Scholarship" means the scholarship awarded under this 20 Act. 21 "Semester hours" includes each semester hour attempted, 22 whether remedial or for credit toward a degree, but shall not 23 include any semester hour attempted before graduating from 24 high school or earning a general educational development 25 (GED) equivalency diploma. 26 "Senior student" means a student at an institution of 27 higher education who has attempted at least 91 semester hours 28 but less than 128 semester hours. 29 "Sophomore student" means a student at an institution of 30 higher education who has attempted at least 31 semester hours 31 but less than 61 semester hours. 32 "Title IV" means Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 33 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1070, et seq.). HB3831 Engrossed -3- LRB9110077NTks 1 Section 10. Ineligibility for scholarship. A student is 2 ineligible for a scholarship under this Act if the student: 3 (1) is not a United States citizen or a permanent 4 resident alien who meets the definition of an eligible 5 noncitizen under federal Title IV requirements; 6 (2) is in default on a federal Title IV educational 7 loan or a State of Illinois educational loan, provided 8 that a student who is otherwise eligible and has fully 9 repaid the defaulted loan shall be eligible to obtain a 10 scholarship for future academic terms but not 11 retroactively; 12 (3) owes a refund on a federal Title IV student 13 financial aid program or an Illinois student financial 14 aid program, provided that a student who is otherwise 15 eligible and has fully paid the refund owed shall be 16 eligible to obtain a scholarship for future academic 17 terms but not retroactively; or 18 (4) does not meet each qualification listed under 19 Section 15, 20, 25, or 30 of this Act applicable to the 20 student. 21 Section 15. Freshman eligibility for scholarship. To be 22 eligible for a scholarship, an entering freshman student 23 seeking a degree at an institution of higher education shall: 24 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 25 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 26 Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated 27 by the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state 28 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 29 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 30 (2) Meet achievement standards by having graduated 31 from an eligible high school with a cumulative grade 32 point average of at least 3.0 while meeting the 33 curriculum requirements of his or her program of study, HB3831 Engrossed -4- LRB9110077NTks 1 or, in the case of a student who is otherwise qualified 2 but did not graduate from an eligible high school, by 3 earning a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 4 at an institution of higher education at the end of the 5 semester in which the student has attempted 30 semester 6 hours, provided that the student shall be eligible to 7 receive a retroactive scholarship for the student's 8 freshman year to be paid at the end of the freshman year; 9 and 10 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 11 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 12 matriculated status. 13 Section 20. Sophomore eligibility for scholarship. To be 14 eligible for a scholarship, a sophomore student seeking a 15 degree at an institution of higher education shall: 16 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 17 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 18 Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated 19 by the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state 20 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 21 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 22 (2) Meet achievement standards by meeting the 23 following criteria: 24 (A) Earning a cumulative grade point average of 25 at least 3.0 at an institution of higher education 26 at the end of the semester in which the student has 27 attempted 30 semester hours; and 28 (B) Maintaining satisfactory academic progress 29 in a course of study in accordance with the 30 standards and practices used for federal Title IV 31 programs by the institution of higher education in 32 which the student is enrolled; and 33 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, HB3831 Engrossed -5- LRB9110077NTks 1 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 2 matriculated status. 3 Section 25. Junior eligibility for scholarship. To be 4 eligible for a scholarship, a junior student seeking a degree 5 at an institution of higher education shall: 6 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 7 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 8 Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated 9 by the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state 10 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 11 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 12 (2) Meet achievement standards by meeting the 13 following criteria: 14 (A) Earning a cumulative grade point average 15 of at least 3.0 at an institution of higher 16 education at the end of the semester in which the 17 student has attempted 60 semester hours; and 18 (B) Maintaining satisfactory academic progress 19 in a course of study in accordance with the 20 standards and practices used for federal Title IV 21 programs by the institution of higher education in 22 which the student is enrolled; and 23 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 24 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 25 matriculated status. 26 Section 30. Senior eligibility for scholarship. To be 27 eligible for a scholarship, a senior student seeking a degree 28 at an institution of higher education shall: 29 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 30 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 31 Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated 32 by the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state HB3831 Engrossed -6- LRB9110077NTks 1 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 2 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 3 (2) Meet achievement standards by meeting the 4 following criteria: 5 (A) Meeting all achievement standards for 6 scholarship eligibility in his or her junior year; 7 (B) Earning a cumulative grade point average 8 of at least 3.0 at an institution of higher 9 education at the end of the semester in which the 10 student has attempted 90 semester hours; and 11 (C) Maintaining satisfactory academic progress 12 in a course of study in accordance with the 13 standards and practices used for federal Title IV 14 programs by the institution of higher education in 15 which the student is enrolled; and 16 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 17 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 18 matriculated status. 19 Section 35. Cessation of eligibility. 20 (a) A student who fails to maintain a cumulative grade 21 point average of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in 22 which the student has attempted 30 semester hours may attend 23 the next 30 semester hours without a scholarship. An 24 otherwise eligible student who regains a cumulative grade 25 point average of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in 26 which the student has attempted 60 semester hours may 27 requalify for a scholarship. 28 (b) For students eligible for a scholarship under this 29 Act, no minimum number of hours of enrollment is required. 30 (c) Except as set out in subsection (d) of this Section, 31 a student may receive the scholarship until the first of 32 these events: 33 (1) The student has earned a baccalaureate degree; HB3831 Engrossed -7- LRB9110077NTks 1 or 2 (2) The student has attempted at any institution of 3 higher education a total of 127 semester hours. 4 (d) A student enrolled in an undergraduate degree 5 program designed to be more than 127 semester hours in length 6 is eligible to receive the scholarship for the lesser of: 7 (1) A total of 150 attempted semester hours; or 8 (2) The number of hours required for graduation if 9 the student has a cumulative grade point average of at 10 least 3.0 after the semester in which the student 11 attempted 127 semester hours. 12 Section 37. Condition for receipt of scholarship. As a 13 condition for receiving a scholarship under this Act, a 14 student must certify that he or she has applied for other 15 federal and State grants. 16 Section 40. Scholarship amount. Subject to the amounts 17 appropriated by the General Assembly, a scholarship awarded 18 under this Act shall include (i) for a public institution of 19 higher education, tuition and approved mandatory fees or (ii) 20 for a private institution of higher education, tuition and 21 approved mandatory fees in an amount not to exceed the 22 maximum amount allowed to be awarded each academic year under 23 Section 35 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. 24 However, a scholarship may be applied only to tuition and 25 mandatory fees not covered by any federal grant. 26 Section 990. Rules. The Commission is authorized to 27 promulgate rules not inconsistent with this Act relating to 28 scholarships described in this Act. 29 Section 995. Funding. The funding for the scholarships 30 described in this Act shall be subject to annual HB3831 Engrossed -8- LRB9110077NTks 1 appropriations enacted by the General Assembly, which shall 2 establish the total amount of funding for these scholarships. 3 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 4 July 1, 2001.