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92_SB0590 LRB9207885NTsb 1 AN ACT concerning higher education student assistance. 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 for Increased Tuition 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 -2- LRB9207885NTsb 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.). -3- LRB9207885NTsb 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, or 25 of this Act applicable to the 20 student. 21 Section 15. Sophomore eligibility for scholarship. To be 22 eligible for a scholarship, a sophomore student seeking a 23 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 adopted by 27 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 meeting the 31 following criteria: 32 (A) Having graduated from an eligible high 33 school with a cumulative grade point average of at -4- LRB9207885NTsb 1 least 3.0 while meeting the curriculum requirements 2 of his or her program of study, or, in the case of a 3 student who is otherwise qualified but did not 4 graduate from an eligible high school, by otherwise 5 meeting the criteria specified in clauses (B) and 6 (C) of this subdivision (2); 7 (B) Earning a cumulative grade point average of 8 at least 3.0 at an institution of higher education 9 at the end of the semester in which the student has 10 attempted 30 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 20. Junior eligibility for scholarship. To be 20 eligible for a scholarship, a junior student seeking a degree 21 at an institution of higher education shall: 22 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 23 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 24 Illinois as established by the program rules adopted by 25 the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state 26 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 27 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 28 (2) Meet achievement standards by meeting the 29 following criteria: 30 (A) Earning a cumulative grade point average 31 of at least 3.0 at an institution of higher 32 education at the end of the semester in which the 33 student has attempted 60 semester hours; and -5- LRB9207885NTsb 1 (B) Maintaining satisfactory academic progress 2 in a course of study in accordance with the 3 standards and practices used for federal Title IV 4 programs by the institution of higher education in 5 which the student is enrolled; and 6 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 7 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 8 matriculated status. 9 Section 25. Senior eligibility for scholarship. To be 10 eligible for a scholarship, a senior student seeking a degree 11 at an institution of higher education shall: 12 (1) Meet residency requirements by meeting the 13 requirements to be classified as a legal resident of 14 Illinois as established by the program rules adopted by 15 the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state 16 tuition policy of the governing board of the institution 17 of higher education in which the student is enrolled; 18 (2) Meet achievement standards by meeting the 19 following criteria: 20 (A) Meeting all achievement standards for 21 scholarship eligibility in his or her junior year; 22 (B) Earning a cumulative grade point average 23 of at least 3.0 at an institution of higher 24 education at the end of the semester in which the 25 student has attempted 90 semester hours; and 26 (C) Maintaining satisfactory academic progress 27 in a course of study in accordance with the 28 standards and practices used for federal Title IV 29 programs by the institution of higher education in 30 which the student is enrolled; and 31 (3) Meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 32 enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a 33 matriculated status. -6- LRB9207885NTsb 1 Section 30. Cessation of eligibility. 2 (a) A student who fails to maintain a cumulative grade 3 point average of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in 4 which the student has attempted 30 semester hours may attend 5 the next 30 semester hours without a scholarship. An 6 otherwise eligible student who regains a cumulative grade 7 point average of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in 8 which the student has attempted 60 semester hours may 9 requalify for a scholarship. 10 (b) For students eligible for a scholarship under this 11 Act, no minimum number of hours of enrollment is required. 12 (c) Except as set out in subsection (d) of this Section, 13 a student may receive the scholarship until the first of 14 these events: 15 (1) The student has earned a baccalaureate degree; 16 or 17 (2) The student has attempted at any institution of 18 higher education a total of 127 semester hours. 19 (d) A student enrolled in an undergraduate degree 20 program designed to be more than 127 semester hours in length 21 is eligible to receive the scholarship for the lesser of: 22 (1) A total of 150 attempted semester hours; or 23 (2) The number of hours required for graduation if 24 the student has a cumulative grade point average of at 25 least 3.0 after the semester in which the student 26 attempted 127 semester hours. 27 Section 35. Condition for receipt of scholarship. As a 28 condition for receiving a scholarship under this Act, a 29 student must certify that he or she has applied for other 30 federal and State grants. 31 Section 40. Scholarship amount. Subject to the amounts 32 appropriated by the General Assembly, a scholarship awarded -7- LRB9207885NTsb 1 under this Act shall be in an amount equal to the following: 2 (1) for a public institution of higher education, 3 the amount of any increase in tuition and approved 4 mandatory fees charged the scholarship recipient from the 5 amount of tuition and approved mandatory fees charged a 6 freshman student at the institution at the time the 7 scholarship recipient was a freshman student; or 8 (2) for a private institution of higher education, 9 the amount of any increase in tuition and approved 10 mandatory fees charged the scholarship recipient from the 11 amount of tuition and approved mandatory fees charged a 12 freshman student at the institution at the time the 13 scholarship recipient was a freshman student, but not to 14 exceed the amount of any increase in tuition and approved 15 mandatory fees charged a freshman student at the 16 University of Illinois at the time the scholarship 17 recipient was a freshman student. 18 However, a scholarship may be applied only to an increase in 19 tuition and mandatory fees not covered by any federal grant. 20 Section 990. Rules. The Commission is authorized to 21 adopt rules not inconsistent with this Act relating to 22 scholarships described in this Act. 23 Section 995. Funding. The funding for the scholarships 24 described in this Act shall be subject to annual 25 appropriations enacted by the General Assembly, which shall 26 establish the total amount of funding for these scholarships. 27 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 28 July 1, 2002.