FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Education then Finance.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §18C-7-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
making Promise scholarships available for students pursuing certificates or
degrees through an accredited community and technical college education
program.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18C-7-6 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. WEST VIRGINIA
PROVIDING REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAXIMIZING IN-STATE STUDENT EXCELLENCE
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
§18C-7-6. Promise
scholarship program requirements; legislative rule.
(a) A PROMISE scholarship
annual award shall meet the following conditions:
(1) For a student enrolled
in a state institution of higher education, the annual award is equal to the
lesser of the cost of tuition or $4,750, except that a student who was awarded
and used a PROMISE scholarship annual award prior to January 1, 2010, shall
continue to receive the annual award calculated under the same terms and
conditions that applied on the day before the effective date of this article;
(2) For a student enrolled
in an eligible institution other than a state institution of higher education,
the annual award is equal to, but may not exceed, the lesser of the cost of
tuition or $4,750, except that a student who was awarded and used a PROMISE
scholarship annual award prior to January 1, 2010, shall continue to receive
the annual award calculated under the same terms and conditions that applied on
the day before the effective date of this article;
(3) The annual award may
exceed $4,750, if the commission determines that adequate funds are available,
but in any case, may not be greater than the actual cost of tuition;
(4) The annual award shall
be used by an eligible institution to supplement, but may not supplant, a
tuition and fee waiver for which the individual is eligible pursuant to section
five, six-a, seven or seven-b, article ten, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
(b) The total cost of all
scholarships awarded by the commission in any year may not exceed the amount of
funds available to the commission during that fiscal year.
(c) In order to be eligible
to receive a PROMISE scholarship award an individual shall:
(1) Submit a scholarship
award application to the commission:
(A) Within two years of
graduating from high school or within two years of acquiring a general
equivalency degree if provided instruction in the home or other approved place
pursuant to subsection (c), section one, article eight, chapter eighteen of
this code; or
(B) Within seven years of
initially entering military service, and within one year of discharge from military
service, if the individual has entered the United States armed services within
two years after graduating from high school;
(2) Apply for and submit a
Free Application for Federal Student Aid;
(3) Maintain a grade point
average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale in the required core and
elective course work necessary to prepare students for success in
post-secondary education at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels as
determined by the commission, if the individual has completed not more than one
semester or term at an institution of higher education, excluding credits
earned in advanced placement, international baccalaureate, dual credit and
comparable courses while the student is enrolled in high school: Provided, That a student
desiring to pursue a certificate or degree in a West Virginia accredited
community and technical college education program, as defined in section two,
article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code, may be awarded a Promise
scholarship for as many as four semesters in such a program if the student has
a composite ACT score of at least eighteen and a high school grade point
average of 2.5, and maintains a 2.2 grade point average in the chosen program.
(4) Maintain appropriate
academic progress toward the completion of a degree at the undergraduate
education level as determined by the commission if the individual has completed
more than one semester or term at an institution of higher education, excluding
credits earned in advanced placement, international baccalaureate, dual credit
and comparable courses while the student is enrolled in high school;
(5) Be a United States
citizen or legal immigrant to the United States;
(6) Meet additional
objective standards the commission considers necessary to promote academic
excellence and to maintain the financial stability of the fund; and
(7) Enroll in an eligible
institution. A student enrolled at an eligible institution who receives a
PROMISE scholarship award may retain and renew the scholarship to complete his
or her undergraduate education at that institution or any other eligible
institution under the following circumstances:
(A) The institution at
which the student is enrolled loses its status as an eligible institution
pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (1), subsection (b), section three of
this article; and
(B) The student meets all
other renewal requirements of this code and of commission rules.
(d) It is the intent of the
Legislature that the commission shall strongly encourage prospective candidates
for the PROMISE scholarship to perform at least twenty hours of unpaid
community service while in high school to help prepare them for success in
post-secondary education. The community service may include, but is not limited
to, participation with nonprofit, governmental or community-based organizations
designed with any or all of the following purposes:
(1) Improving the quality
of life for community residents;
(2) Meeting the needs of
community residents; or
(3) Fostering civic
responsibility.
(e) The commission shall
promulgate a legislative rule in accordance with the provisions of article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(1) The rule shall include
at least the following provisions:
(A) The amount of a PROMISE
scholarship award in combination with aid from all other sources may not exceed
the cost of education at the institution the recipient is attending. This
provision does not apply to members of the West Virginia National Guard,
recipients of an Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship and recipients of a West
Virginia engineering, science and technology scholarship;
(B) Additional objective
standards the commission considers necessary:
(i) To promote academic
excellence;
(ii) To maintain the
financial stability of the fund; and
(iii) To operate the
program within the limits of available funds.
(C) Provisions for making
the highest and best use of the PROMISE Scholarship Program in conjunction with
the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program Act set forth in
article thirty, chapter eighteen of this code;
(D) A provision defining
the relationship of PROMISE scholarship awards to all other sources of student
financial aid to ensure maximum coordination. The provision shall include the
following:
(i) Methods to maximize student
eligibility for federal student financial aid;
(ii) A requirement that
PROMISE scholarship awards not supplant tuition and fee waivers; and
(iii) Clarification of the
relationship between the PROMISE Scholarship Program, tuition savings plans and
other state-funded student financial aid programs;
(E) A method for awarding
scholarships within the limits of available appropriations, including
circumstances when program funds are not sufficient to provide awards to all
eligible applicants. The commission may not use any of the following methods:
(i) Providing for an annual
PROMISE scholarship award that is less than the amounts provided for in this
section; or
(ii) Eliminating any
current recipient from eligibility; and
(F) A method for applicants
to appeal determinations of eligibility and renewal.
(2) The rule may provide
for or require the following at the commission's discretion:
(A) Requiring repayment of
the amount of the scholarship, in whole or in part, if a scholarship recipient
chooses to work outside the state after graduation. The rule may not require a
recipient to repay a scholarship, in whole or in part, unless the prospective
recipient has been informed of this requirement in writing before initial
acceptance of the PROMISE scholarship award;
(B) Targeting a portion of
the scholarship funds to be used for applicants enrolled in an engineering,
science, technology or other designated program;
(C) Determining what other
sources of funding for higher education are to be deducted from the PROMISE
scholarship award; and
(D) Providing additional
criteria as determined by the commission.
(3) The Legislature finds
that an emergency exists and, therefore, the commission shall file a rule to
implement the provisions of this section as an emergency rule pursuant to the
provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The rule is
subject to the prior approval of the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability.
(4) Any rule promulgated by
the commission pursuant to previous enactments of this article in effect on the
effective date of the amendment and reenactment of this article in the year
2009 remains in effect until amended, modified, repealed or replaced by the
commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to make Promise scholarships available to students who wish to pursue a
vocational certificate or degree in a community and technical college education
program.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.