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92nd General Assembly

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Public Act 92-0713

HB4351 Enrolled                                LRB9214616NTpk

    AN ACT regarding higher education student assistance.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
is amended by changing Section 70 as follows:

    (110 ILCS 947/70)
    Sec.  70.  Administration  of   scholarship   and   grant
programs.
    (a)  An  applicant  to  whom the Commission has awarded a
scholarship or grant under this Act may apply for  enrollment
as a student in any qualified institution of higher learning.
The  institution  is not required to accept the applicant for
enrollment, but is free to  exact  compliance  with  its  own
admissions   requirements,   standards,   and  policies.  The
institution may receive the payments  of  tuition  and  other
necessary  fees  provided  by  the  scholarship or grant, for
credit against the student's obligation for such tuition  and
fees,  and  for  no other purpose, and shall be contractually
obligated:
         (1)  to provide facilities and  instruction  to  the
    student on the same terms as to other students generally;
         (2)  to   provide   the   notices   and  information
    described in  this  Act;  and  to  maintain  records  and
    documents   which  demonstrate  the  eligibility  of  the
    students for whom scholarships and grants are claimed.
    (b)  If, in  the  course  of  any  academic  period,  any
student enrolled in any institution pursuant to a scholarship
or grant awarded under this Act for any reason ceases to be a
student in good standing, the institution shall promptly give
written  notice  to  the Commission concerning that change of
status and the reason therefor. For purposes of this Section,
a student does not cease to be a  student  in  good  standing
merely  because  he  or  she is not classified as a full-time
student. In any case, a student must be enrolled for at least
6 semester or 6 quarter hours for the term  to  maintain  any
eligibility  for  grant  benefits  under  subsection  (c)  of
Section 35.
    (c)  A student to whom a renewal scholarship or grant has
been awarded may either re-enroll in the institution which he
or  she  attended during the preceding year, or enroll in any
other qualified institution of higher learning; and in either
event, the institution accepting the student  for  enrollment
or   re-enrollment   shall  notify  the  Commission  of  that
acceptance  and   may   receive   payments   and   shall   be
contractually   obligated  as  provided  with  respect  to  a
first-year scholarship or grant.
    (d)  The Commission shall administer the scholarship  and
grant  accounts  and  related  records of each student who is
attending an institution of higher learning  under  financial
assistance  awarded  pursuant to this Act, and at each proper
time shall certify to the State Comptroller,  in  the  manner
prescribed  by  law,  the  current  payment to be made to the
institution on  account  of  such  financial  assistance,  in
accordance   with   an   appropriate   certificate  from  the
institution. The Commission  may  require  the  participating
institution   of   higher   learning   to   perform  specific
eligibility  evaluation  procedures   as   a   condition   of
participation.
    (e)  The  Commission  shall  conduct  on-site  audits  of
educational    institutions   participating   in   Commission
administered programs.  When institutions  have  claimed  and
received  funds  on  behalf  of  ineligible  recipients,  the
Commission  may  adjust  subsequent institutional payments to
recover those funds.
    (f)  The Commission may shall, upon the  request  of  any
institution  which received payment for scholarship and grant
awards  for  each  of  the  last  5  years,  certify  to  the
Comptroller an advance payment for the  current  term  to  be
made   to  the  institution  on  account  of  such  financial
assistance in an amount not to exceed 75% of announced awards
for the institution for such  financial  assistance  for  the
current  term,  adjusted for attrition over the last 5 years.
For the purposes of this Section, "attrition" is  the  number
of  announced award winners enrolled on the 10th class day as
a percentage of the total announced awards.  The request  for
an  advance  payment  for  the  current  term  shall  not  be
submitted  until  10  class  days  after  the  last  day  for
registration  for  that term.  Upon appropriate certification
from the institution presented for each payment period, after
the standard tuition and mandatory fees have been established
for all students for  the  term  of  payment  and  the  award
recipient  has  enrolled, the Commission shall certify to the
State Comptroller the balance of the current  payment  to  be
made   to  the  institution  on  account  of  such  financial
assistance.  If an advance payment received by an institution
exceeds the payment to which that  institution  is  entitled,
the  Commission  shall  reduce  subsequent  payments  to that
institution for later terms within the same academic year  as
the overpayment by an amount equal to the overpayment; if the
reduction  cannot  be  made, the institution shall refund the
overpayment to the Commission.  The Commission  may  deny  or
reduce  the advance payment provided to any institution under
this Section if it has reason to  believe  that  the  advance
payment  for the current term may exceed the full payment the
institution is entitled to receive for  such  assistance  for
that term.
(Source: P.A. 87-997.)

    Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
    Passed in the General Assembly May 07, 2002.
    Approved July 23, 2002.
    Effective July 23, 2002.

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